Just Like Me
by Amme Moto
Summary: Meet Connan Frai, the schizophrenic woman who gets dragged into the Jedi world and starts the mission of the Star Maps. Will she and her other self Jishin learn to trust the Jedi, or will the lies about Revan destroy it? The truth was never so far away!
1. Endar Spire

She sat up in her bed, eyes wide open and sweating. Her brown hair drifted off of her shoulders, into her line of vision. Exasperated, she pushed it back into place and scowled.

Something was wrong with her.

Well, there _must _be. She keeps seeing another her. Someone else that looks just like she did. But whenever she asked someone about it, they'd look at her like she was crazy.

But Connan wasn't crazy, was she?

No, Connan Frai might have something wrong with her, but she was _not _crazy. Maybe she should go to the med bay, and get them to check her up….again.

Would they let her inside the med bay again? She had been there five times already; they must have been tired of her by then.

The vision kept on asking her the same questions: who she was, where they were, what she was doing. It frightened her.

Connan closed her emerald eyes once more, trying to focus. But all she saw was _her_.

"Who are you?" The voice asked, slightly alarmed. Connan opened her eyes once again, gasping. She was always there.

But she never had been on the outside of her mind, like she was right then, standing in front of her.

"Will you leave me alone already?" Connan screamed, standing up and walking away from her now-unmade bed. "You've been bothering me for days!"

"I've been bothering _you_?" The woman argued, crossing her arms and scowling. "I don't even know who you are! Now, let's try to keep our cool here."

"Why the change in attitude?" Connan smirked, raising an amused eyebrow. "One of those peace-keepers, are you?"

"No, I'm trying to keep both of us under control so we don't try to kill each other." The other said. "Now, what is your _name?_"

"My name is Connan Frai, already!" Connan stomped a foot. "Who are you?"

"I—I don't know." The woman said. "I don't remember anything about why I'm here, who I am, or anything. But we look alike, so that has to be something."

"No, we look alike because you're a hallucination. That's how it goes. I'm Connan Frai, head tech of the Endar Spire, and you're the hallucination." Connan pointed at the image before her.

"On the contrary, we are not only look-alikes; I feel we are almost the same thing. The one and the same." The image held her index fingers in the air and pressed their sides together, showing what she meant. "The proof—" The woman held her right wrist up to show Connan something.

A scar in the form of an X was placed over the veins.

Connan stared at the scar, tracing her own absentmindedly.

"But…." Connan sat down on a chair. "If we're the same, then why are we—talking to each other?"

The other one sighed. She rubbed her chin with her fingers.

"That, I don't know."

"Well, that's great." Connan said. "I don't suppose you're any good with technology?"

"Actually, I can neither tell the difference between a red wire and a blue button, and I can't see how _you _can." The look-alike smirked. "On the other hand, I can fight very well."

Connan scoffed.

"Well, then it's wasted, because I suck."

"Oh really?" The copy sat down on the un-made bed and crossed her legs. "Not when I'm done with you."

"What?" Now Connan stood, placing her bangs behind an ear. "Frankly, I don't think you're in a position to hold a vibroblade." She sighed. "I shouldn't even be talking to you now, out loud. People already think something's wrong with me."

"Think a thought." The other ordered. Connan raised her eyebrows.

"Excuse me?" She crossed her arms.

She nearly fell over as she watched the other talk to her without moving her lips.

"_I told you to think a thought!" _The voice rang through Connan's head, making her hold her ears. _"We can communicate like this."_

"_Alright, now I'm starting to think that you really are me." _Connan thought back to her other self.

"_Well, that's good. Now I can teach you how to fight without much complaining about hallucinations." _The other smirked.

"_But you still can't hold a blade." _Connan pointed at her other, shrugging.

"_Then close your eyes." _Connan nearly fell over.

"_What? You want me to sleep?" _

"_Not necessarily. More like... meditate. Here, I'll teach you how." _The other sat on the ground silently and crossed her legs. Connan did the same. _"Now close your eyes. It will be like sleeping, but we can communicate as well, and there I can teach you how to fight."_

Connan closed her eyes and instantly was greeted by darkness.

"_Wow, it's kind of dark," _She thought. _"Wish there was some light; and maybe a recognizable background…"_

A loud _pop_ was heard and the place turned into a field.

"_Well, that's good. Now we just need some vibroblades." _Connan heard her other self behind her. She turned, blinking to make sure she was still seeing the same thing.

The other self was dressed in a regular armor, and had two blades in her hands.

"_Nice armor," _The other said. Connan glanced down at her own self, seeing the same thing on herself. _"You forget already that we're the same person, I wear what you wear, feel what you feel, and so on."_

"_That's encouraging." _Connan mumbled.

The other threw a blade at Connan, having her catch it by the handle.

"_Now, let's start with the basics…."_

That had been four months ago. Now Connan was a great fighter, and an even better mechanic, once she taught the other everything she knew.

The other was dubbed the name Jishin, a name that supposedly meant "Another me," in a dead language.

They really were just alike. They got angry at the same things, they thought the same things, they even _did _the same things. Over time they began to become great friends. They looked out for each other, and Jishin helped Connan out a lot with all the broken droids that often came to her.

Then, the Sith happened.

"**This is Carth Onasi, all hands to the bridge! We've been overtaken by Sith!"**

"That was Carth, a well-known soldier. If he says we're in trouble, he must mean it!" Trask, her supposed roommate, explained to her as they fought their way through the Sith to find the bridge.

"_Jishin, what's happening?" _Connan asked her twin.

"_You ask me so assuredly, you'd think I'd know the answer!" _Jishin shot back. _"Just keep fighting."_

"Easy for you to say…." Connan sputtered out loud. She turned red as Trask looked at her.

"What?" He asked. "I didn't hear you."

"Oh, it's nothing." Connan waved him off.

More Sith charged them the further they got away from their quarters. Connan jumped out of the way of a slashing sword and threw her vibroblade in the way, cutting through the man's thin armor and taking him out. Three more began to charge her and Trask.

"Please, I'm tired of this," She told herself. Connan scowled as she took out her blaster and shot the three down.

She had to close her eyes when she saw the Dark Jedi and the Jedi both die. The thought of watching a Jedi—one who was great in power—die so quickly made her sick.

They finally got onto the bridge, but no one was there.

"This is getting better and better!" Connan smacked herself on the forehead and sighed. "Where' the Onsai person you told me about?"

"You mean _Onasi_." Trask corrected. "He should be here, though. Since he isn't, my guess would be he's either already in an escape pod or he's making his way there. We should get going in that direction, too."

"_Jishin, I don't have a good feeling about this…." _Connan advised her friend.

"_I know that! I have the same feelings as you do." _

"Uh—Trask?" Connan attempted to alert her aide, but he opened another door.

"Shhh," He said, holding a hand up. "There's someone behind here…."

Trask laid his hand on the door, opening it. Connan gasped at the new figure, taking out two vibroblades.

"Another dark Jedi!" Trask seethed.

"And you were expecting Lord Malak?" The man growled. He eyed at Connan and raised an eyebrow.

"Well, look who's on the other side…." He whispered. Trask shot at him.

"You head to the escape pods, I'll keep him occupied!" He closed the doors.

"Wait!" Connan pounded on the now closed door. "What happened? Who _is _that? Open this door!"

But the sounds of a lightsaber drowned out her cries.

_Jishin, do you know who that was? _Connan pleaded.

_No, but if you don't get going, he's going to come after us! _Jishin appeared beside her twin. Her hair was in a high ponytail—like the look-alike—and her measly combat armor was stained with Sith blood.

"But—" Connan spoke out loud.

"But nothing!" The look-alike interrupted. She stomped her foot. "Trask sacrificed himself for us, are you going to let him do that in vain?"

"I—I don't know…." Connan shook her head. "Alright, fine. But you're getting an earful when we got off of this thing alive."

"**This is Carth Onasi again; you've got to hurry up! You're the last one alive on this ship." **The communicator startled Connan and Jishin, making them jump.

"Gosh!" Seethed Connan into her comm. link. "Don't scare us like that!"

"**Ummm…. Us?"** Carth asked. **"My stats show that you and me are the only Republic soldiers left!"**

"What?" Jishin started. "That means—"

"Dark Jedi number two is coming after us," Connan finished, reading her friend's mind. "Not good. We'll be there as soon as we can."

"…**Alright…." **Carth clicked off his comm. link and left Connan to her and her twin.

"Let's get out of here." Jishin commented. Connan nodded and opened another door.

"It should be on the other side of this door, Jishin." She said after knocking down and vandalizing three Sith.

"**Be careful there," **Carth came back onto the link. **"There's at least eight Sith behind that last door."**

"Well, that's just great. I'm out of spikes!" Connan snapped her fingers together and scowled.

"No way, you're a _technician _and you don't have any _spikes_?" Jishin crossed her arms, laughing. "Looks like we'll have to take them head on."

"**You can refigure that machine over beside you to attack the Sith; if you have any parts…" **Carth suggested.

"Well, yeah." Jishin smirked. "If you want to be a wimp."

"What?" Connan asked, feigning offense. "What about a wimp?"

A surprised grunt expelled from the comm. link.

"**I didn't call you a wimp." **

"Not you!" Connan brought her wrist up to her mouth and shouted the words into her link. Then she shut it off.

"You can make the droid fight for us, or we can use this situation as target practice!" Jishin said. She had a point, the white, rusty droid didn't seem like much of an alternative. "Come on!" She jumped in the air excitedly.

"That's a better idea." Connan nodded. Sheresheathed her vibroblade and unholsteredtwo blasters, smirking.

"Alright, let's give this a try." Jishin said, winking. Connan opened the door.

The shooting instantly started. Many times Connan had to jump back and use the door as a barrier between her and the battle.

"Not like that!" Jishin criticized, throwing a fist in the air. "You're holding the blaster like it's going to turn around and bite your hand off! Grip it! Or they'll get it out of your hands!"

"You're really helping at a time like this, you know?" Connan turned to look at her friend as she spoke, and ended up with a blaster shot grazing her arm.

"OW! Son of a—"

"Connan!" Jishin gripped her own arm, wincing as she knocked her twin on the head. "The battle?"

"I hope your arm never heals properly." Connan insulted, listening all the while and standing back up to continue the skirmish.

"Then yours won't either, Genius. We're the same thing, remember?" Jishin shot back, sticking out her tongue.

"You know, I can't believe I'm arguing with _myself _in the middle of a fight." Connan shot down another Sith, leaving only three men-in-terrible-fashioned-armor left.

"It's not like there's very many left…." Jishin said. "You can go up and switch to a vibroblade now."

Connan sighed, taking note of the look-alike's words, and rushing into the room. They had little reaction time and by the time one got out a blade, the other two were down.

The man stabbed at her, making her side-step and lunge at him. He parried the attack and received an elbow in the mouth.

He crumpled to the floor, spitting teeth and blood all over her and his armor.

"Thanks for your stuff!" Connan smiled as she defaced the man of all his good possessions.

The door behind her opened and a familiar voice called to her.

"There you are!" Connan resisted the urge to slash him with her sword, and instead sighed.

"Relax," Jishin offered, "it's just Carth, I think. He doesn't look like a Sith."

"It's been one hell of a day…." She said. "I'm tired."

"Well, I'm Carth Onasi," The man stuck out his dirty, calloused hand. Connan took it in her own grease-ridden hand, wiping the sweat out of her face with the other.

It was then that she took note of all his features. His torn armor, its yellow combat-ness now turned to a gray dullness. His hair was all over his face, but sort of tucked behind his ears,as iftrying to look presentable.

"Just call me Connan Frai," She insisted.

"Well, now that the introductions are over, why don't we get in the last escape pod and get out of here." Carth pointed at the closed compartment that he planned them to squeeze into.

"Now wait a minute, how can I trust you?" Connan stepped back. "You could be a Sith in disguise." Carth flicked her nose, angering her.

"And you could very well be the Sith Lord Revan reincarnate, but that's not stopping me." He said, confusing Connan.

"_Jishin, who is Revan again?"_She asked her look-alike.

"_Later."_

"I'm a Republic soldier, like you. And we're the only two left alive on this ship." Carth went on, taking his hand away and scratching the back of his head.

"_We can trust him, I think…." _Jishin advised.

"_And it's not like we can't take him down if he's lying. It's one on two." _Connan smirked at her own remark.

"Alright," She said, walking into the room and pressing the escape pod button. She got in. "Hop in."

Carth jumped inside quickly and shut the lock tightly.

"_I never noticed until now that his brown hair is soaked in blood!" _Connan shivered.

"_You're looking too closely for my comfort." _Jishin growled. She swatted her twin, seeing her own hand phase through the real.

Carth pressed a button on the inside of the pod, shooting it off.

"There's a planet below us that we could land on. We'll be there in about an hour." He said. "Until then, get comfortable."

As they propelled away from the ship, they never knew that this would mark the beginning of an adventure.

THE END!

So, how was it? I'll have the next chapter out soon.

Sorry ahead of time for mistakes, sometimes the stupid computer doesn't catch all of the errors.


	2. Taris I

"**You cannot win, Revan."**

"**_Jishin? Where are you?" _Connan searched the sight before her for her friend, but she was no where to be found.**

**The ship shook violently. The people standing before her fell to the ground.**

**One particular person crawled weakly over the body of the cloaked one.**

"**_Jishin, where did you go?" _Connan jumped back up, calling out with her hands cupped over her mouth.**

"**_Over here! Help!" _Jishin's frightened voice called out. _"I—I can't—Help…." _**

**The cloaked figure's mask was coming off. A face filled the ship, one that Connan couldn't see….**

"Wake up, woman!" Carth mumbled, watching the poor woman toss in her sleep. Her chocolate hair was now ruffled and frizzy, a result of the sleeping procedures. It had been her third day sleeping, and it wasn't getting better. She hadn't eaten the whole time, nor taken a drink in her slumber. He worried that his only link to the Endar Spire would be lost in a coma, or would be sick from starvation.

And the _last _thing he needed was a sick woman badgering him for every little thing.

Bored, and tired of watching Connan turn in her sleep, a disgruntled Carth strode around the abandoned apartment, trying to think out their next move.

They'd have to find Bastila, of course, and then what? Or, before that, what were they going to do about finding Bastila? They didn't even know where she was. According to his information he acquired by snooping and talking to people in the apartments, the pods mostly landed inside of the Undercity, a place where no one would ever want to go. The gate to the Lower City—the first step to getting to the Undercity, was guarded by a Sith patrol and will only let one of their own in.

The Sith was another topic in its own. The whole _planet _was under quarantine, so no one could get in or get out. Then the fact that he and Connan were Republic soldiers didn't—

"Uhng…." Connan moaned, slapping her head and opening her eyes. She had woken up on her back, and she immediately sat up. Looking around the room dazedly, she began to look for her twin. "Jishin?"

"_I'm here," _The voice replied, resulting in Connan's sigh.

"Good," She said out loud. Her eyes wandered around the room, trying to focus in the dim light.

"_Can you take control, Jishin?" _Connan inquired, still not noticing the man watching her.

"_I can try, but I've only been awake as long as you have, and from what I can tell, we were hit on the head pretty hard…." _Jishin answered, rubbing her head.

Connan held her forehead. _"Let's just give it a try, then switch back."_

Seconds later Connan felt herself being ripped from the physical body she and Jishin controlled, and took her place on the sidelines.

"Yes!" Jishin threw a hand in the air excitedly.

Then she laid eyes on Carth. She gasped, her eyes nearly blowing out of their sockets.

"_Oh, no." _She thought. _"Him? What's he doing here?"_

Panicking, Jishin threw Connan back into the body. Not knowing about the sudden switch, Connan lost balance and fell over on top of the bed.

"_Don't do that!" _She glared at her twin, coughing. She held her stomach, trying to control the heaving motions she made as her muscles tensed.

"_Sorry! I freaked when I saw him there. What was I supposed to do?" _Jishin threw her hands up above her head as a sign of surrender.

"_We need to work on your people skills." _Connan thought desperately, eyeing Carth.

"_I can't help it if I got the side of you that prefers to be left alone." _Jishin rolled her eyes.

"_We both prefer it, dummy." _Connan stopped, realizing she was insulting herself in a way.

"Uh, glad to see you up. For a minute there I thought you might be stuck with tossing and turning for the rest of your life. It's only been three days so far." The man started off. He watched her sheepishly.

Connan threw up an instant defense, checking her body for anything that shouldn't be there. No telling what that man could have done.

Examining her body, she learned that her clothes weren't on, and instead was a smattering of Carth's clothes on her. The grunginess, the washed-out blood stains, and the tears gave it away.

"Your other clothes were burned, and I didn't want it to hurt you," Carth explained, watching her realizations. She glared at him, holding her chest protectively. "I fixed your other clothes the best I could."

Finally deciding that her body hadn't been violated, she rubbed her eyes sleepily.

"You're that Onsai guy, right?" She lifted her legs over the side of the bed and stood.

"That's _Onasi. _Carth Onasi." Carth frowned. His name wasn't that hard.

"I'm Connan Frai." Her words made Carth question whether she had had short term memory loss. But then she smiled playfully. "But I'll bet you knew that, since I already told you.

"Where are we?" Her last question wasn't directed at him, he felt. She had looked away to the left and seemed to be staring at something—or someone—over there.

"_Connan, I don't know. Stop asking me. If you don't know where we are then I don't either." _Jishin snarled, still offended about the sudden switch she made. _"Honestly. It's like you can't get the fact that we think the same things."_

"_Well, sorry!" _Connan pouted. _"I'm still not used to it after four months…."_

"Frai!" Carth waved a hand in the air, catching Connan's eyes. "Thank you for coming back down to Taris."

"What? _Taris?_ Isn't that the racist planet with the three different levels?" Connan raised an eyebrow. "Why would we land on this dumpy space meteor?"

"Hello! Do you remember _anything _from our last conversation?" Carth shouted, now a little more than angry. He waved his hands in the air and sighed. "Jeez!"

Connan's anger matched his completely. No one smarted off to her, expecting her to leave it alone.

"Well I'm sorry, _Onasi_." She glowered. "I'll leave you to your brooding." She got up, searching the footlocker placed neatly beside her side of the bed. She wrenched out her regular clothes, which weren't that bad, considering what Carth had told her. His fixings weren't a horrible mess, either. He seemed to know a great deal about sewing, because some of the techniques he used weren't commonly known.

"You didn't mess with my tools, did you?" She snapped at him. He recoiled slightly.

"Yes, I took each one out and found everything I could do to ruin them." Carth shot back sarcastically, hitting himself in the head as he received a death-glance.

Truth be told, her tools had dust on them. She fitted them into her tool belt and placed her mines and grenades into her bag.

"You carry grenades often?" Carth inquired.

"Mines, too. They're great for battle." Connan said, smirking. "Now turn around, I have to change clothes."

"Alright Onasi," She said once finished changing. "Let's get started. What are we going to do?"

"We have to find Bastila!" Carth stated. "But, since the planet has been taken over by the Sith and they've ordered a planet-wide quarantine, it'll be hard.

"Bastila? Who's that?" Connan raised an eyebrow.

"That bang on your head must have done more damage than I thought," Carth muttered, frustrating Connan. Before the woman could retaliate, Carth continued. "Bastila is a Jedi. She and a group of others practically took over the ship before the Sith attacked."

Connan gaped at him, recoiling. "A Jedi?" She questioned. "You can't be serious. What should I do for any Jedi?"

Carth was surprised, to say the least. Most Republic soldiers idolized the Jedi, and this one was repelling them like fleas on a Bantha! That was just another reason not to trust her.

"You, have something against the Jedi?" Carth crossed his arms.

Connan placed her head in her right hand, closing her eyes and sighing.

"No, it's just—never mind," Connan waved the question off. "Alright, Bastila is a Jedi. But what about the other Jedi on the ship? We don't have to find them?"

"They were only there to protect Bastila." Carth explained. "You see, Bastila has learned the rare Battle Meditation; an attack which can tip the tide in battle. That was how the Jedi managed to board Darth Revan's ship and kill him."

"Revan? _Him?_" The words rolled out of Connan before she realized them. "M…Malak's master, right?"

"Where have you _been _these last four years?" Carth was now exasperated at Connan. He clenched his fists together. "Of course he was! They almost defeated the whole Republic until Bastila came along and killed Revan!"

"Whoa, touchy." Connan flicked her hand in the air jokingly. "Alright, so we've only got to find Bastila. But it'll be hard since we're under Sith quarantine. Where would be the best spot to start looking?"

"Either the Lower City or the Under City. The pods landed in the Under City, but Bastila could have escaped into the Lower City." Carth was glad he was _finally _getting through to the woman.

Sighing, Connan stretched out her muscles. "_You up for some Jedi hunting, Jishin?"_

"_Anytime you are, Connan." _Jishin replied, smiling.

"Alright," She decided out loud, walking towards the door. "I'll be back in a bit."

"Now hold on." Carth laid a rough hand on Connan's shoulder, stopping her in her tracks. "Where are you going without me?"

"Well, then try to keep up. I want off of this planet." Connan snapped.

"Your constant badgering and smart ass comments aren't needed, you know." Carth's voice darkened considerably.

Connan stared at him for a moment, then sighed.

"I know," She conceited. "I just have a terrible headache. And that's never a good thing." When Carth didn't look very convinced, she clicked her tongue. "Look, I'm sorry, ok? I've had a rough couple of months, and I shouldn't be taking it out on you."

"_I resent that statement!" _Jishin pouted.

"_But you didn't notice that the day you and I became friends was the day that I started getting drowned in work?" _Connan's face didn't show her inquiry, so she wouldn't confuse Carth.

Carth frowned, thoughts rushing into his mind. He moved them away. Choices of trust could be made later.

"We can buy medicine for that headache," Carth released his hold on Connan's shoulders.

"How much money do we have, anyway?" Connan opened the apartment door and stepped out.

"Both of ours together, about one-hundred and twelve credits." Carth answered, walking ahead of her out the door.

"Great."

Wandering into Zelka's shop, Connan began to observe Carth's actions. He had walked from the apartment to the other side of the North Upper City with a quickness and a straightness not normally seen in soldiers. It was like he was eager to get this done and over with.

"_But we shouldn't care," _Jishin decided. _"We just want to get rid of this headache."_

"_So, we're using plurals now?" _Connan mused, a smile playing at her lips.

"_As of now, yes." _Jishin explained.

"Great, something else to get used to." Connan murmured out loud, instantly covering her mouth. Carth stared at her for a minute, trying to decide what to think.

"Yes, can I help you?" The doctor asked, wandering up to the two. "Do you need medical attention?"

"I don't, she does." Carth pointed at himself, then placed his finger squarely at Connan.

"So much for letting him guess." Connan snidely said. Carth snorted and sneered at her.

"My name is Zelka. I'll help if I can. What's wrong?" The black man held out his hand to Connan. She shook it heartily, and sighed, looking down at her boots.

"I've got a headache. Big time." She said plainly. Zelka sighed.

"Have you been hit on the head recently?" Zelka took a flashlight out of his pocket and flashed it Connan's eyes. She squinted in the new light, and tried desperately to keep her eyes open.

"Does three days ago count?" Jishin stole control over the vocal cords and voiced her question.

"That's recently, yes," Zelka said. He handed her some medicine. "Take this, it should help you."

Connan gulped down the blue and red pills, instantly feeling her headache subside.

"Wow," She held her hands out by her sides to keep balance. "That worked fast."

"They're supposed to. Just don't eat or drink anything for an hour." Zelka laid a hand on her shoulder and helped her balance.

"Ok, how much do we owe you?" Carth asked, taking out his datapad.

"Oh, don't be foolish. I don't need credits for a headache." Zelka waved it off.

"But there must be something we can do for you." Connan insisted.

"Well, you have the look of a fighter about you; maybe there _is _something you can do for me." Zelka began to hush his tone, and leaned in to whisper to the two. "I need someone to get me the Rakgoul serum. It's already been invented, but the Sith on this planet confiscated it all."

"Are Rakgouls always a problem here?" Carth asked.

"They've been very persistent lately, and I can't cure my patients!" Zelka became exasperated.

"We'll get it for you." Connan said, smiling. "Thank you so much!"

Carth turned to leave, and Connan followed suit. Staying two steps behind Carth, Connan sighed.

"I need a drink."

Carth scoffed, entering the street once more.

"You can't have one, Connan. It hasn't been an hour yet." He rolled his eyes.

"Well fine, let's explore the other apartments before we hit the cantina!" Connan rushed ahead of him and into the South Apartments.

THE END!

Ok, bad chapter. Next one will be better. I hope it's not too confusing. I'll try to make the next chapter a bit clearer on what Jishin is capable of. Right now she and Connan can operate different parts of the body they share. Does that make sense? Please review!


	3. Taris II

There was a Sith stand outside the apartment door, what was Connan expected to do? He had already seen her and Carth, so she might as well go up there and talk to him.

"Hello!" She said in a friendly voice, waving. She ran up to him. "What's going on?"

"Nothing that concerns you, citizen. Move along." The Sith ordered, making Connan cross her arms.

"I'm not a citizen, thank you very much. Now,who's in there?" She asked, pointing into the room the Sith guarded. She could hear the voices from her outside post.

"Come on," A Sith voice inside the room said. "We know you stole those uniforms, just give them to us and we won't get ugly!"

Obviously a lie.

"**I don't know what you're talking about!" **Came a Rodian's voice. **"I haven't stolen anything from anyone."**

"That's what you'd like us to believe, isn't it?" Another Sith was inside, interrogating the Rodian.

"Maybe the Rodian really didn't steal anything." Carth suggested. The Sith outside shook his head.

"Of course he did! We have him on camera." He said.

"**I didn't steal anything!" **The Rodian pleaded. **"Please help me!"**

"Alright," Connan said, sighing. "Leave that Rodian alone, please."

"A polite rebel?" A third Sith showed up. "I shall enjoy pulling out your entrails."

"A rude Sith?" Connan mocked. "I do believe I am shocked."

The two Sith thugs drew their blasters and prepared to fire at Connan. She shoved Carth out of the way and ducked.

"My turn." She said. She flipped over them, pulling something out of her tool belt pocket and throwing the circular objects at them in the process. She landed behind them and knelt onto her knees. The objects smashed onto the floor soon after, sending an explosion through the ground.

Carth felt the repercussions of the force, bending his knees to keep his balance.

The two Sith fell onto the ground, dead.

"Ha!" Connan snarled at them, fixing her brown hair behind her. "That'll teach you to mess with a technician."

"What did you do to them?" Carth carefully walked around them, wary of them still being alive.

"I used grenades. There's no use to waste all that energy in battle if you can just use grenades on them." Connan brought out four frag grenades, each occupying a spot between her fingers. Lazily, she rotated each one from finger to finger, knowing if she dropped one it would mean doom for everyone within five feet of her.

"That's cheap," Carth murmured under his breath. She smiled at him.

"All I do is survive; I don't care how." She straitened her new combat armor and sauntered into the room, where the Sith leader was still interrogating the Rodian.

"How did you kill the others so easily?" He asked them, astonished. Carth pointed to Connan, who just laughed.

"No matter, you won't get past me." The Sith continued, pulled out a vibrosword.

"Fine," Connan sighed. "Sith are annoying."

"_Can I take over?" _Jishin asked hopefully. _"I want to fight him! Please?"_

"_Alright, sure." _Connan allowed Jishin control of their body. Jishin pulled out two vibroswords and flipped them around.

"You're going to fight this one down?" Carth asked, a little agitated.

"Sure, why not? Want to help?" Jishin was already hitting the Sith and blowing him some damage. Carth willingly joined, only too happy to be doing something.

Jishin battled with a fierceness often not seen in people. Her attacks were precise and to the point, and she often feigned moves to gain the upper hand.

In a matter of minutes the Sith was lying dead on the floor and Connan had scavenged their bodies, taking their credits, valuables, and Sith armor.

"**Thank you so much!" **The Rodian pleaded. **"I thought for sure they would have found their stuff."**

"Anytime," Connan nodded her head. "So you really did steal uniforms?"

The Rodian nodded.

"**I'm to give them to Gadon Thek, a gang leader of the Hidden Beks." **The Rodian clarified. **"But you can keep those you have for yourself. Now: how can I repay you?"**

"You don't have to do anything; I just enjoyed getting to fight." Connan put a hand behind her head and laughed. "Oh, wait." Her mind clicked as she thought of something. "Do you have a tin flute?"

"**A tin flute?" **The Rodian repeated. **"They're only used for—"**

"I _know _who they're used for, but I need one." Connan explained.

"**I'm sad to say that I don't have one in my possession." **Connan snapped her fingers. **"Forgive me."**

"_We'll have to look elsewhere." _Jishin conceited.

"_We need one soon; my fingers are aching." _Connan whined.

"That's alright," She said out loud. "You'd better go before someone else comes."

"**Right! And thanks again." **The Rodian left the room, and Connan soon followed.

Carth blew off the remark about the tin flute; she probably wanted it for pawning. They needed the credits.

Connan and Carth didn't find much of anything in the rest of the apartments, so they began wandering the streets of Taris, looking for the cantina.

"_Is something wrong with Carth?" _Connan asked her other, glancing at the man. His face was contorted into a frown, and he didn't seem to be focusing on any one thing.

"_Talk to him and find out," _Jishin crossed her arms.

"Hey, Carth?" Connan stopped walking and turned to face him. He stopped, watching her in annoyance. "You seem kind of… out there. Is something wrong?"

"Well," Carth placed a hand on his hips. "It's you."

Connan raised her eyebrows and slightly backed up, surprised at his reply.

"What about me?" She asked.

"We've been here for hours and you've yet to ask me anything other than before in the base. I find that a little disturbing." He explained his predicament, waving his arms around.

"_What an arrogant remark," _Jishin giggled. She grabbed a hold of Connan's vocal cords and said very flirtingly, "Whoa, do women often ask about Captain Carth Onasi of the Mandalorian Wars?"

Jishin released her vocals and allowed Connan to continue, right when the woman burst out laughing. She held her stomach to try and control the heaving, and she clamped a hand over her mouth.

"_Very funny, Jishin." _She commented.

Carth looked taken aback, like he instantly regretted what he said. "I didn't mean it like—I mean—you must—"

"Easy Onasi, it was a joke." Connan regained her composure and brushed her hair behind her. "And I didn't really think you'd want to talk about anything. You seemed like _such _a serious person."

Another joke, but Carth didn't take it that way.

"I am not!" He replied, making Connan push the hand back up to her mouth. Carth suddenly realized what he said. "What—I didn't mean that—damn you, woman!"

"Okay, okay. Enough joking. What was it?" Connan grinned.

"Well," Carth started once again. "I'd like to know what happened on the ship—from your point of view."

"We weren't in a position to know what was going on." Connan replied.

"We?" Carth repeated.

"Uh, Trask and I." Connan made the idea up as she spoke it. "He woke me up from my—sleep." She hesitated when she said sleep. As she had been for the last four months, Connan had been meditating at the time, using the valuable resting time to practice with Jishin and research things.

"It just seems strange. What did you do on the ship, anyway?" Carth asked.

"I was the head technician, and provided music for everyone." Connan answered. Bragging about herself brought a smile to her face.

"Music?" Carth repeated like a parrot.

"I'll have to show you sometime," Connan said, snapping her fingers, hoping he would change the subject.

"But it seems odd to me that you were added at the last second onto the crew—and by the _Jedi_ no less." Carth stated.

Connan scoffed, folding her arms tighter onto her chest. "What would a _Jedi _want with me?" She said coldly.

Another snide comment about Jedi. Maybe Bastila would clear things up about Connan's evasivenesswhen they found her.

"All I'm saying is that you were added _very _late, and then we were attacked soon after." Carth shrugged.

"_Yeah," _Jishin snarled. _"Four months after we came on." _Connan nodded, confusing Carth.

"Are you saying I had something to do with it?" Connan asked, turning to face Jishin.

"_He can't mean that. We weren't even awake to know what was happening!" _She pleaded with her twin.

"_I know that, Connan." _Jishin clarified.

"You have to admit it does seem that way." Carth reinforced. Connan's temper fired up.

"Is your head missing screws?" She asked, moving her wrist like she was knocking on an imaginary door. "I was _asleep _when the Sith attacked. I couldn't have contacted them in my sleep. And besides, why would I have killed those Sith back there?"

"There are strange motives driving the Sith; you tell me." Carth sneered.

"Yeah, and why are you so mistrusting as to accuse me of being a Sith?" Connan asked, her voice more like a growl.

"I have my reasons." Carth said. "But I always expect the unexpected. And I _hate _surprises."

"That's impossible." Connan smirked, clearly confusing him once more.

"What's not possible?" Carth asked, sighing.

"To expect the unexpected." She continued afterCarth's blank face suggested ignorance. "If a one-winged shyrack came flopping out of the cantina beating that Gordon Colu guy with a bat, would you have expected it?" Connan managed to keep a strait face while saying that. Carth cocked an eyebrow.

"Well, no, but—"

"Then how, pray tell, can you expect the unexpected when you don't even expect that?" Connan winked.

"I guess… you can't…." Carth rolled his eyes.

"And therein lies your answer." Connan explained, flicking a finger at her male partner. "Since it's impossible to expect the unexpected, just don't be surprised when it comes. Shit happens. Mostly to me, so you're in trouble."

Carth just stared at the woman. How did this conversation get from joking about being serious to expecting the unexpected?

"_Nice lecture, Connan!" _Jishin applauded. _"Where did we learn it?"_

"_I don't remember…."_

"Yeah, let's just leave it at the fact that I don't trust people." Carth said, unable to admit Connan was right.

"And, you don't want to talk about it?" Connan pushed.

"Not after _this _interrogation, no. Maybe later but I don't want to talk about it right now! Let's just get back to the task." Carth began making his way to the cantina.

"_Touchy one, that one is," _Jishin said, following Carth and walking into the cantina.

"_You could say that again," _Connan replied. She sat down at the bar, slapping her hand on the table to get the bartender's attention. "Get me Tarisian Ale,"

"Uh, just a hit a juma for me," Carth said, thanking the nodding tender. He turned to Connan. "Are you sure you want Tarisian Ale? It's very strong."

"I know that," Connan smirked. "Why do you think I got it?"

The bartender instantly came back with their drinks.

"Thanks," Connan handed him the credits they owed and chugged down the Ale, making Carth gape. When she set the large cup down, the ale was gone.

"Wow," Carth mumbled. "You're going to get sick."

Connan chuckled.

"You'd be surprised." Her eyes wandered around, looking for the Bith band that usually played to keep the customers under control. Seeing none, she asked the bartender about it.

"They all left. They suddenly got very popular, and shipped out just before the Sith Quarantine. Lucky, if you ask me." The tender said. "But now we need a band,"

"What luck!" Connan stood. "I'll play. What's the pay for one hour?"

"One hundred credits." The man's voice hardened as he wiped the ale cup free of germs and placed the towel back over his blue shirt.

"Five hundred." Connan's voice met his. She rested an elbow closer towards him and nudged up to lower her tone.

"Two hundred."

"Four-fifty."

"Four seventy-five."

"Done!" Connan slapped her hand on the table, signing the deal. She smiled as she heard the man swear under his breath. "I just need a tin flute."

"A tin flute?" The bartender stopped. "What are you, a Celtic?"

"What?" Carth stared at Connan as she folded her arms. "What's a Celtic?"

"They're a race of people gifted from birth with music." Connan clarified.

"They say the best ones can make stories out of their music, and you can see the plot transform in front of you as they play." The bartender whispered.

"Thank you," Connan closed her eyes and nodded. "But I need a flute."

"I thought Celtics were married to their flute." The bartender clarified, sarcastic words dripping from him vilely. "Or was I mistaken?"

"We treasure our tin flutes as much as our lives, but I'm afraid mine had been destroyed recently." Connan's voice almost started cracking.

_She must mean it blew up on the Endar Spire, _Carth thought.

The bartender bent below to the cabinetsunder the counter and rummaged around until he pulled out a brass-looking flute.

"Here you are, it hasn't been used much, so be careful." Connan took the flute and held it up to her face, measuring it and dusting it off. Then she placed it up to her mouth—her hands to the side, holding the tin flute like a regular one—and played a scale as quietly as she could.

"This will do fine." She flicked it towards him, then turned to Carth. "You can watch if you want, though I have no doubt you'll be able to hear it anyway."

Ten minutes later, the bartender appeared on the stage, quieting everyone.

"Ladies and gentlemen, we have a special treat for you here tonight. A Celtic woman, who wants to play something for you. Here she is, Connan Frai!"

Carth watched as Connan walked across the stage and bowed.

"Hello! For those of you who don't know how Celtic music works, you're in for a surprise." She giggled slightly, then placed the tin flute in its place at her mouth.

The story began speedily, and Carth watched as Connan's eyes closed and her fingers became blurry from the speed they flew at.

A picture entered Carth's mind: A woman, in her late teens, saying goodbye to her parents and taking an adventure through the world, to get to her brother's place. With her she took her bow, quiver full of arrows, and a sword.

Connan slowed the pace of her music to a perky, walking music. The woman was walking along a trail, as happy as she could be.

For about five minutes, the music stayed the same, barely changing in the scales she used, but the notes in general were hardly different.

Then the woman ran into trouble; five wolverines and one man trying to save himself from them. Connan's music abruptly switched to a panicky tone, one that assumed sure peril.

Carth's heart began to beat faster. Would the woman die? Would the man die? He shifted in his chair and wiped his brow clean or perspiration. The music really was great; he felt like he was in the story himself, watching the woman as she faced certain doom.

As expected in any story, the woman slew the animals and became friends with the man. He escorted her to her brother's, turning the music into a slow, talkative one.

Carth watched as Connan's music ranged from slow, romantic tunes to harsh and brash evil scenes. In the end, the woman and the man she saved—now her lover, were trying to defeat the bad man.

The bad man was in love with the woman, and was trying to seduce her to his cause. The music changed from dark and evil to light and jumpy to separate the conversation between the two. The woman refused to turn, and enraged the bad man into attacking her lover. In a desperate attempt to save him, the woman pushed the bad man out of the way and over a cliff, but not before suffering the sword wound in the ribs.

Everyone in the cantina—which Carth noticed had grown considerably in the last hour—had gasped at that part, envisioning the death of the woman.

The man held her as she lay dying, trying to heal her. It was of no use, because the woman died seconds later.

In a world of hurt, the man buried the woman and laid an engraved stone above her underground body. Before leaving the woman to her eternal resting, the man whispered his final goodbyes. Carth heard them ringing through his ears for hours after the music ceased.

"_You aren't gone from me; I'll find you someday, my love."_

The story ended that the man arrived at the brother's place once again—the place their journey began—and lived with the brother for the rest of his days.

The tin flute left Connan's lips, and the tears streamed willingly down her face. No one in the cantina moved, including Carth. All were afraid to ruin the moment.

At long last, Connan grinned from ear to ear and bowed, signaling the end of her saga.

The applause that erupted from the crowd was deafening to be the bluntest. Everyone was trying to out-scream everyone else, and they cheered for an encore. Carth found himself among the best of them, clapping his hands together and shouting "Encore!" along with everyone else.

But Connan refused, bowing once more and stepping off of the stage. Many people blocked her way from the bar where Carth resided, and it took Connan many moments before she could find her way to him.

"There you go. Celtics in their finest." She shrugged, handing the bartender—who was still wiping the tears from his wrinkled face—the tin flute.

"That was—that was _amazing! _I never knew anyone could do that." Carth stuttered, looking desperately for more encouraging words.

The bartender, in the meantime, refused the tin flute. "You keep it," He said. "You seemed to enjoy it so much, and no one around here knows how to use it."

"Really?" Connan's eyes lit up and she grinned in gleeful surprise. "Thank you so much!"

The man rummaged around in his tattered, stained, used-to-be-white apron pocket and offered Connan credits. Two thousand credits.

"Wait—" Connan put her hands up, carefully avoiding any harm to her new/old tin flute. "We said four hundred seventy-five. That's a lot more than that."

"I know that," The man said, putting it on the table and pushing toward her. "But that was magnificent! Much better than the Biths that used to play here. And their pay was less than four hundred seventy-five credits a _day_."

"Well, we do need the extra cash…." Connan explained to herself, looking at Jishin for confirmation.

"_I think we should take it." _Her other said. _"There are a lot of people out there we still need to help."_

"Alright," Connan surrendered, placing the much-appreciated credits into her pack. "Now, I'm going to need another glass of Tarisian Ale."

"_Another?_" Carth asked. "You chugged down the first one in three seconds."

"Ai," Connan said, an accent similar to an Irishman's masquerading in her voice. "'T'is another faithful Celtic curse." The giggles erupting from her slightly miffed Carth. She hadn't acted like that before, when they were in the apartments.

The bartender gave her the wanted drink and she passed him the credits for it. She drank this one more slowly, savoring the taste as it drizzled down her throat.

"So how did you get the guy to talk?" Carth asked her. "No other dialogue was that clear in the story."

Connan choked down the Ale she just drank and slapped her chest, trying to set it down. After her surprised fit of coughs, she looked around the cantina, her eyes desperate for a distraction.

"Oh, look! That guy's playing pazaak. I think I'll play, too." She ensnared the rest of the Ale in her mouth and swallowed it as she got up and left the bar.

_Great, _Carth thought. _What did I do now?_

"Wow," The bartender wiped the table off where she had accidentally spewed Ale. "Touchy subject, no doubt."

"What was that about?" Carth asked the man, jabbing his thumb in the woman now buried in praise and pazaak.

"I don't know, but she obviously didn't want to talk about it. Bad memory, I guess." The bartender shrugged.

"So the perfect musician-slash-technician _does _have secrets," Carth murmured, a sly grin crossing his face. He got up and drove through the pile of people blocking his way to Connan.

"Hey, Frai." He barked, making her look up. She was giving the man money. "Time to go."

She said her goodbyes to the man and left.

"How many credits did you give him?" Carth asked as they made their way back to the apartments, the moon high above them. Connan smiled, an embarrassed laugh escaping her lips.

"Not much," She hesitantly said, placing her hands on the back of her neck and walking ahead of him.

"How much, Frai?" Carth restated, more sternly.

"Four hundred credits…." Connan instantly took off running, the captain trailing right behind her, shouting unkind things at her. She laughed the whole way to the apartments.

"Frai! You wasted four hundred of our valuable credits on _pazaak_? How could you even think to play if you're that bad at it? Get back here!"

THE END!

Wow that was a long chapter. I know: she's starting to sound like a Mary Sue. But that's one of the points to the story. It'll make sense later on; I haven't even started on the hard part yet. It'll all get better once Bastila joins the group.

For those of you who care, I'm going to make this a trilogy, and I'm going to seriously mess with the plot of Knights of the Old Republic II. And another thing for those caring people, wherever or whoever they may be: I'm writing a one-shot based on the sequel to "Just Like Me". The sequel itself will be called "Hide And Seek", but the one-shot will have a different title. Be on the look-out!

Now, please review people! I'll have the next chapter out soon, and it will either be this next chapter or the one after that I get Bastila in it.


	4. Taris III

"What do you want?" Connan crossed her arms and yawned in the Rodian's face. A look of disgust ran across her face as she glanced around her surroundings. The Lower City cantina was a lot less taken care of than the Upper City one. Cracks took over the walls, and the pillars seemed to be only held up by glue.

"**I wanted to congratulate you on your massive success on that small performance you displayed night before last." **The Rodian spoke clearly.

"Could you say that with half the syllables in it?" Carth asked, twisting his pinky finger in his ears to get out the gunk so he could hear.

"He said thanks for playing the flute last night." Connan crossed her arms and sighed.

"_We're going to have to teach him how to speak Rodian, that's the fourth time this morning we've had to translate for him." _Jishin whined.

"_We need coffa, first," _Connan agreed. The Rodian nodded off and left Connan and Carth to their searching.

"Back off, chubba-face!" A voice in front of them shouted. "You're making me sick with that breath,"

"**Big bar isn't nice place for little Blue-Girl to be by herself." **One of the Rodians directly ahead of Connan said. He pointed to a Twi'lek who looked maybe fourteen.

The blue Twi'lek made the two other aliens scurry off by threatening them with her Wookie friend. Connan chuckled to herself. Wookies were great allies.

"Hello," She started, walking up to the Wookie.

"**Why are you bothering me?"** The Wookie asked dryly. Connan scowled at him.

"Zaalbar, be nice." The Twi'lek ordered. She caught Connan's eye. "Don't worry about him; he's not the talkative type. Come talk to me."

Shrugging, Connan made her way around the "Zaalbar" and to the Twi'lek.

"Hey there," The Twi'lek started as if she had just seen Connan and Carth. "What can I do for you?"

"Wow," Carth stated. "A Twi'lek that can speak Basic."

Connan smirked, crossing her arms and sucking on her teeth to make an irritated sound.

"Most species can speak Basic, they just prefer their own language." The Twi'lek retaliated. "I'm Mission Vao," She held out her hand to Connan, who briskly took it.

"I'm Connan Frai, and this is Carth Onasi." The woman stated, forcing a yawn down her throat.

"Connan Frai? I know I've heard that somewhere…." Mission placed a finger on her chin and furrowed her brow.

"Did you hear her last night in the Upper City cantina? She was playing the flute there last night." Carth remarked.

"_Now he's bragging on us." _Jishin poked her other self in the ribs, making a laugh choke up Connan's throat. She coughed slightly.

"Sorry," She stated once she was finished. She glared at Jishin, who was laughing.

"_Not funny, Jishin." _Connan scowled.

"_Oh, you're just still asleep. Wake up!" _Jishin slapped her twin on the back, her hand phasing through.

"No," Mission went on with their other conversation. "It wasn't there. I haven't been in that cantina in months. I'm thinking something like somewhere in the Outer Rim worlds. Have you lived on Sajor?"

Connan paled, all of the blood escaping her head as she abruptly felt lightheaded and sick.

"Sajor?" Carth _had _to comment on everything that ever came out of anyone's mouth, didn't he? "You've been on that world? Isn't that a communist planet?"

"I don't know," Connan recovered quickly. "I've never heard of it."

"No matter," Mission thankfully shrugged off the question. "If you ever have any questions, come ask me. Me and Big Z are usually in the Bek base or in the Undercity looking for oddities."

"I'll remember that." Connan nodded. "We've got to get going."

"Yeah, we'll probably go to the Bek base right about now. Come on, Big Z." Mission waved her goodbyes and dragged Zaalbar out of the cantina, griping about how he hadn't finished eating.

"That was strange," Carth murmured to himself. "Why did she ask if you've ever been on Sajor?"

"I don't know!" Connan snapped, making Carth recoil. She sighed. "Sorry about that," She apologized instantly, running a hand through her hair. "Let's move on,"

"There's nothing else to search for in here." Carth said. Connan grinned suddenly, a toothy grin, so Carth could see her discolored teeth and whitened tongue.

"That just means we can drink."

-----

"Alright, Onasi," Connan warned, setting down her fifth Tarisian Ale glass. "You've had enough liquor for a while."

"**Ma'am, with all-do-respect," **Said the shy little Twi'lek behind the counter. **"He's only had four shots of juma juice."**

"And I can still hold more, Sister." Carth slurred his words together. His finger jabbed into the air so forcefully; he made himself fall over onto the table. Connan gripped onto his dull yellow jacket on his chest and pulled him back up.

"No, really. You've had enough. Another one and you'll be intoxicated." She stressed.

"W-well then how can you drink so much _Tarlisian _Ale without getting a _little _drunk, Frai?" He asked, chuckling to himself as he pressed his fingers together.

"Tarisian Ale, Onasi. It's Tarisian Ale."

"That was my next choice."

Connan sputtered. Carth was a funny drunk.

"You didn't answer my question."

"Hmm?" Connan shook her attention back onto Carth, who was trying to stand up. He was wobbling all over the place. "What did you say?"

"You didn't answer my drinking kwestion." Carth stated, mispronouncing the word "question" unintentionally. Connan placed his arm around her shoulders and overly-tipped the Twi'lek waitress. The woman's face lit up at the sight of so much money and thanked Connan.

"I drink a lot, Onasi." Connan stated, walking out of the cantina. "I don't get drunk as easily. Now, you—on the other hand, probably haven't taken up a _thought _about drinking."

"Nuh-huh." Carth shook his head, nearly throwing Connan off-balance with its ferocity. "I've thought about drinking before, Frai."

"Really?" Connan laughed out the words. "What happened; did a flower get trampled or—watch your step right there—or did a bee get squashed?" Connan guided the drunken Carth over the stairs into the Upper City.

"Uh-uh." Carth said forcefully. "I'm not telling."

"And why not?" Connan feigned offence. She couldn't care less if he didn't tell her what was wrong with him.

"Because I don't trust you." Carth staggered around the Upper City as Connan carefully walked him into their apartment.

"Oh, that's very considerate. And why don't you trust me, Mr. I-Must-Always-Be-On-Guard?"

"I'm not always on guard!" Carth threw his other hand into the air. "Just—most of the time."

"Are you going to answer my question, or are we going to get into the You-Think-I'm-A-Sith conversation again?" Connan asked, putting the key into their apartment and walking in.

"I don't trust you because I don't trust anyone, Frai. Sorry, but this man is untouchable." Carth thrust him thumb into his chest. Connan burst out laughing.

"Untouchable, eh? That's a new line to flatter someone." She said, laying him down onto the bed. "Go to bed."

"Why? It's not that dark!"

"Actually, we've spent five hours in the lower cantina. It's 4:00 in the morning." Connan yawned, sitting down on the floor.

"You're not going to sleep in your bed?" Carth began to take his shirt off, forcing Connan to blush and look away.

"I don't sleep in beds, _Onsai_. I can't—work on other things if I sleep on a bed. It's too comfortable." Connan instructed.

"Well I'm not tired," Carth was so drunk he didn't catch the _Onsai _remark.

"Lie down and I'll play on the flute. That'll make you sleep." Without waiting for his negative reply, Connan took out her flute.

The tune she played was a slow, solemn one. It kept shadows appearing in Carth's head, and lulled his mind into unconsciousness easily.

"You still never….Never explained about the words in the song…." The drunken soldier murmured before he slipped off into his slumber.

Jishin took over the body completely, smirking to her other self.

"No, we didn't, did we, Connan?" She asked slyly. Carth stirred in his sleep slightly, rolling over onto his side.

Connan shook control of the vocal cords on their body and chuckling.

"You're quite right, we didn't." She mused, holding the end of her flute up to her chin.

It was Jishin's turn to talk. She stood the body up and began picking out the rubber band from her hair.

"And he shall never know. That information is for us only." She half-recollected, half-ordered the words.

"Hmmm, for us and Freòine only." Connan twirled around her flute slowly. Jishin smiled and laughed.

"Yes, Freòine knows too."

THE END!

Yes, they got a little cryptic at the end. They'll get even more cryptic as the story goes on.

And I think I lied to you people. I said either this chapter or the next will have Bastila in them. It's going to be the next one or the one after that. Sorry fellas!

I'll be working on Choices No One Should Make next. So please review and tell me how it went!


	5. Taris IV

"Did I tell you anything last night?" Carth repeated suspiciously, setting his jacket sufficiently over his shoulders and giving them a tug. Connan groaned. She picked up her brush and began brushing out her anger into her hair, forcefully pushing out every single tangle, not caring if it hurt her head.

"For the umpteenth time: No! Why would I care anyways?" Connan pulled her hair back into a ponytail and began to pull it through the rubber band. Carth still looked at her in disbelief. "Look, you didn't tell me anything. I swear to you as a Celtic."

"Well…." Carth looked around the empty apartment, considering what she was telling him. He didn't know how much honor Celtics had. Probably not a lot, by the way Connan was acting. "Alright. I believe you. For now."

Connan groaned and rolled her eyes.

"Are you coming, Onasi?" She asked him, throwing a one-strap sack over her shoulder and holding it in place with her clamped hand. "I'm heading to the Bek base. Unless you think I'm going to jump you on the way there, steal all your possessions and find Bastila myself, stealing away all your glory."

"Very funny, Frai." Carth stood. "I'm coming with you." Connan stuck her tongue out at him at left the room.

"Then hurry up, lazy bum." She scolded. "It's nearly noon."

-----

"Hey, Onasi?" Connan's voice was stern and gentle. She wandered into the Lower City cantina with her partner and made him sit down so they could talk. "I think we need to talk."

"I'm all ears, beautiful." Carth smirked mercilessly. Connan raised her eyebrows.

"Beautiful, eh? I like the sound of that." She shot back. In truth, she hated the name. But that smirk Carth plastered onto his face unnerved her. She was trying to goad him into getting mad.

Carth didn't take the bait.

"Really?" He asked, his voice barely faltering. He laid on his elbow and stretched his muscles out from under the table top.

"Yes," Connan poked him in the shoulder. "Keep calling me that."

"_Connan," _Jishin said. _"Why are we flirting with him?"_

"_Were we flirting? I didn't notice." _Connan answered as Carth tried to think up another comeback.

"_Oi, you're impossible." _Jishin growled as she rolled her eyes.

"Maybe I will," Carth finally said. He stared down at Connan with a sly smile. "But what will you call me in return?"

Connan nearly choked on her own breath.

"_Ha! He got us. Are you ready to give up?" _Jishin asked her other. Connan scoffed.

"_No fraking way."_

"Ooh, I like the sound of pet-names." Connan purred out loud. "How about… handsome thug?" Carth burst out laughing, and he laid a hand on the table they resided at.

"That's unusual, I'll give you that. And I do like the ring of the first part." He stated between gulps of choked laughter.

Jishin stared at Connan in disgust.

"_Handsome…thug?" _She sputtered, watching Connan stifle her own fit of giggles. _"Of all the things in the world we could have said! We **had **to say handsome thug! Oh, Force, handsome thug! We had to say that! We couldn't have thought of anything else!" _Connan mentally stuck her tongue out at her twin, which set her more off. _"Don't you stick that furry thing out at me, missy. I'll take over so quickly you don't remember who Revan is!"_

Connan stopped laughing and stared at her twin.

"…_.Is?"_

"Ok, enough joking around," Carth yanked Connan away from throwing another insult at her other self. "What was it you wanted to talk about?" Connan nodded.

"First, I wanted to apologize. I got off the subject of out last real conversation so quickly, we never finished the whole thing about why you think I'm a Sith." She scoffed as she watched Carth raise his brow. "And this is a rare thing: watching Celtics apologize. So savor the moment, it won't last long." Carth nodded playfully.

"Of course," He mused. "And you don't have to apologize. I shouldn't go off on everyone I meet and accuse them of anything. If anyone should apologize, it should be me."

"_Damn straight he should!" _Jishin spat.

"So, do you trust me enough now to tell me why you don't trust people?" Connan asked, crossing one leg over the other. Carth snorted.

"Maybe. It's just not something I talk about very often; and I don't know why you're so damn interested."

"Because you're so damn stubborn about it." Connan retaliated. Carth chuckled, breathing quickly through his nose and closing his eyes as he looked away.

"What do you know about Telos?" Carth asked abruptly. Connan raised an eyebrow at him. "Just tell me."

Connan sat sideways in the chair and re-crossed her legs over each other.

"There's a lot to tell, from the information that I got." She started, slowly swinging a hand in Carth's direction. "The TSF has been slowly going down the drain since the Mandalorian Wars. Officer Grenn supposedly single-handedly stopped a Rodian smuggler from escaping to Nar Shadaa by stowing away in a ship and strangling him from behind." She flipped through her rather extent memory, having it flash before her eyes as they came.

"_Everything about Telos," _Jishin nodded, searching thoroughly. _"This will take a while."_

"That was just a year ago, and wasn't open information to the public." Carth became explicit. "I need something four years ago."

"_Four years ago, that narrows it down by three-fourths." _Jishin called. Connan nodded.

"Let's see… Saul Karath disappeared from the Republic with no luck in his finding." Connan placed one index finger over the other, showing the first thing she knew.

Carth leaned onto the table, using his right arm as a brace.

"After that."

"Some captain reenlisted into the Republic army: Oncar, Nascasi—"

"Onasi."

"Yeah, that was it." Connan flicked a finger at him. "That report was so coded it was almost impossible to read. So this—wait." Connan looked up at Carth with wide eyes. Carth smirked, scoffing and wiping his lip.

"_Onasi_?" Connan repeated. She gawked at him, her mouth drooping every so slightly.

"_Onasi? That's what that said! That makes a lot more sense!" _Jishin clapped her hands together.

"Yes, I reenlisted into the army. I quit after the Mandalorian Wars, but when Darth Revan came back, I had no choice but to try and stop him." Carth said. Connan frowned and seemed to ponder what he said, but chose to ignore the gender remark. "But please, by all means, keep on."

Carth now leaned back into his chair and crossed his arms. Something was definitely strange with this woman. She knew things that most Telosian citizens never knew.

Unless they were sneaky.

"Then there was the attack on Telos by Darth Revan and Darth Malak, lead by the missing Saul Karath." Connan continued slowly, watching Carth's face change from an amused one to an expression of utter disgust. "The surface of Telos was covered with radiation that only the Irodonians could withstand without harm, and nearly half the population was wiped out. The TSF called for help from the Irodonians, from Czerka, and from another organization which couldn't contribute anything despite their attempts to."

"The attack," Carth lowered his head as if in mourning. His hair wafted into his face. "Telos is my homeworld. So many people I knew died in that massacre."

"Why call it a massacre?" Connan questioned. "Only about maybe one hundred thousand people died in that."

"And that isn't a massacre? You've seen more deaths in one day?" Carth growled, his temper more than ablaze.

"You'd be surprised." Connan began digging dirt out from under her long finger nails. She peered closely at each nail, looking for anything offensive.

"Try me." Carth seethed. His eyes narrowed and continued to glare in her direction.

"What are we waiting for?" She asked suddenly, standing up abruptly and surprising Carth into nearly falling over. "Let's get moving!" She walked out of the cantina and into the filthy streets of the Lower City.

"Wait." Carth said, racing after her and stopping her in the middle of the road. "I've told you a lot about me. And I barely even know your name."

"Connan Frai."

"I know that, I'm just saying it as an expression." Carth stated testily. Connan crossed her arms and cocked and eye at him.

"So what did you want to know?" She asked slyly.

"About your past. I know nothing about it." Carth said. Connan leaned up against the greasy wall and sighed, letting her pack slide onto her crooked arm.

"My past?" She started. "Where to start? I was born at a pretty young age…." She stared at his serious face and sighed. "Alright. Recent history. I suppose you won't believe that I've been playing in cantinas all around the galaxy for credits, huh?"

"Not likely." Carth rested and elbow above her head and stared down at her. Connan's face flushed, and she looked away from him. She suddenly felt the uncomfortable feeling wash down her from his looks. She chuckled, quickly recomposing herself.

"Good, because I haven't." She clicked her tongue at him.

"Well, then what? Have you really been on Sajor?" Carth asked softly.

"Good guess." Connan winked at him suddenly. "There! Now you know some about me!"

"What?" Carth dragged on. His shoulders drooped. "You've told me nothing!"

"That's because you're so _good _at guessing." Connan pinched Carth's cheeks lovingly. He scowled, slapping her hand away. "Now let's get into the Undercity already."

-----

It was dark in the Undercity, to say the least. Almost pitch black. Luckily for Connan, Carth was smart enough to bring along a glowstick or two so they could have light. Seeing in that place was like staring to a black abyss and spotting a speck of light light-years away.

So why were the Exchange men in front of her, Mission, and Carth sticking blasters at them?

"Who are you?" Connan crossed her arms ruefully. The twelve men staring her down held blasters up blindly.

"Put your weapons down, you trigger-happy brats." A gruff voice pounded through the men, and they eventually set down the blasters. "They aren't rakghouls. Especially the cute little one in the middle."

"I _beg _your pardon!" Connan spat, realizing she was standing in between Mission and Carth. She stared at the man, trying to get a good picture of him. His gray hair stuck straight up in the air. His red vest covered his black shirt. His huge blaster rested confidently in his hands. His smug brown eyes looked Connan up and down, making her flush and become self-conscious.

She didn't like him.

"Oh, you don't have to beg to me, hon." The man said, earning an aghast gasp from Connan as she stepped back into Mission. "Just looking at you is enough for me."

"Why you—" Connan reached for her right vibroblade and began walking offensively toward the man. Carth linked her arm to his and held her back.

"Don't cause trouble with the Mandalorian." He ordered into her ear.

"Tell me that when he makes a wise crack at you." Connan fought Carth's strength to regain control over herself, but to no avail. Carth held her in a tight lock.

"It wasn't a wise crack, hon." The Mandalorian continued, walking closer to her. "It was truth."

"Wall-eyed schutta!" Connan screeched, giving one last attempt to lunge toward him, causing the man to burst out in an infuriating laughter. Carth strained to pull her back from the man.

"He has twelve men with blasters and you have me and the kid. It that a good battle?" He hissed to her. She switched her gaze from the man to Carth, then to Mission. Then she finally resheathed her vibroblade.

"Fine," She snarled, crossing her arms and pouting. Carth scoffed.

"Who are you?" The defensive Twi'lek insisted. "We don't have time; we have to go find Big Z."

"I'm called Candorous Ordo. These are the lackeys I'm babysitting. We're heading back up to the surface. I suggest you do the same, hon. Wouldn't want that pretty face to get all mauled up." The Mandalorian said, knowing Connan's reaction.

"You—" She stopped herself in mid-sentence. "Good riddance." She spat. Candorous bowed slyly and left with his men.

"That was unpleasant." Mission crossed her arms. Connan nodded in apparent agreement.

"Let's hope we don't see him again."

"Anyhow," Carth looked at the area schematics once more. "The sewers are in this direction. Let's head out."

"Rakghouls!" Mission screeched. She pointed behind them with a blue streaked finger. "Get ready to fight!"

"_Jishin!" _Connan took out both of her blades and whirled them around.

"_Got it." _The other swept control of the body, ready to take down the 'ghouls. She glanced behind her to find Carth and Mission with their blasters withdrawn.

"_Alright," _Connan shrugged beside her body, winking at Jishin. _"We can beat them with just melee weapons." _Jishin nodded.

The woman leapt into battle, instantly cutting off one 'ghoul's head and gutting another one in the same movement. The rancid smell of acid against flesh spilled out and onto Jishin. She scowled. Her clothes were now filthy.

Three rakghouls surrounded Jishin like she was prey and they were the predators. Taking on one at a time was fine and dandy, but taking on three at a time was slightly challenging. She turned in a slow circle, steadily watching each rakghoul for any weakness. One of them was keeping weight off of their leg, and another didn't have an arm.

"_We're going to have to get creative, Jishin," _Connan said. _"Give me control of the left hand and the vocals." _The twin nodded.

"_Alright, one moment."_

The three 'ghouls jumped simultaneously, giving Connan's free hand time to pull out a mine and attach it to her hand.

"Take this, beast!" She screeched, holding the hand up to the first rakghoul.

"Connan!" Carth saw her actions and gawked. "What are you doing? You're going to rip your own hand off!"

Ignoring Carth's pleas, Connan kept the hand up and felt the other hand whip around in Jishin's control. The rakghoul to the right of them was dead now, on the ground with its head settled next to its torso.

The 'ghoul Connan took on reared backward to strike her with its claws.

"_Now!" _Connan screamed at Jishin. Jishin moved the legs forward, closer to the 'ghoul. Connan lunged the hand into the rakghoul's chest, setting off the mine instantly.

The explosion was messy, and slightly rank, but it got the job done. The rakghoul flew backward, only a big ball of guts left of him. Connan was pushed back a little bit from the force of the mine, but she quickly recovered.

A blaster shot rang through the abandoned streets, and a squeak from the last 'ghoul came before the third one dropped dead at Jishin's feet.

Jishin left control of the vessel shared by the two minds and Connan was forced to take over once more. She turned to face the two blaster-holders. The frightened Carth and the miffed Mission.

"What did you just do?" Carth asked sharply. "You could have massacred your whole arm!"

"But it's fine, see?" She held up her left arm and pulled up her sleeve, showing no scars or bruises.

"But—how?" Mission asked. "I thought that the explosion would go both ways."

"People usually think that, yes, but I found at an early age that they only explode on the top. The bottom is just there to hold it." Connan crossed her arms. "So no harm done."

It seemed to Carth that she didn't want to continue the conversation at the moment, so he let her be with that one.

"And where did you get that little maneuver?" Carth inquired. "You kept one hand completely in place while swinging the other around to the last rakghoul."

"That's a secret." Connan winked at her partner flirtingly. Carth _humphed _and crossed his arms, his eyes narrowing. "Now, who's going to find Zaalbar?"

-----

"You're going to be alright, Connan!" Mission—the blue Twi'lek—insisted. She placed her cold blue hands on Connan's shaking shoulders. Connan kept her gaze strictly onto the floor. The Beks around her buzzed about busily, preparing for the race. "You put in the prototype engine yourself; you _know_ that you're going to be fine."

"**Yes," **Zaalbar, the rather persistent Wookie agreed. **"I swear to you that you're going to be ok."**

Connan smirked, remembering that the night before she had saved the Wookie from the Gammoreans. The walking carpet had actually sworn a life-debt to a very surprised Connan, and dragged Mission into it somehow too. Connan now had three mouths to feed—one who ate eight times a day.

"Well, that's all well and great. Confidence is something to be desired, but anxiousness is folly to the bone." Connan droned absentmindedly.

"What?" Mission asked.

"_Connan, where did we learn that?" _Jishin asked too, raising an eyebrow at her other.

A long silence occurred as Connan glanced from the Wookie to Mission.

"Uhh… it's something that my friend told me once." Connan excused.

"_I don't recall any friend ever telling us that." _Jishin flipped through their memories like a book.

"_Well, duh, Genius. I don't know where I got it. It just popped up and flew out of our mouth." _Connan scowled.

"_Ah."_

"**I am not familiar with that mantra." **Zaalbar explained. **"I highly doubt Mission is either."**

"It means don't be anxious, have confidence." Connan clarified.

"Yeah, do that. Oh, and win." Mission joked, poking her friend in the ribs. Connan laughed.

"Thanks, guys." She smiled warmly at them.

Mission glanced around the room quickly before letting out a moan.

"Oh, where is that Carth?" She asked loudly. "He's awfully late."

"You didn't hear us last night?" Connan asked suddenly, surprise in her voice. "Were you really _that _asleep?"

"**She sleeps harder than I do, I'll admit." **Zaalbar said.

"It's true. What happened?" Mission crossed her arms.

"He said he didn't want me to go through with this; that he thought something funny was up and that it was too dangerous to go by myself." Connan rolled her eyes. "After this whole time of being with him, he's still underestimating me."

"Carth did have a point that something funny is going to happen. I can feel it in my bones." Mission shivered, rubbing her hands against her shoulders to conduct heat.

"I'm going to be fine," Connan smirked at herself. "You just told me I was going to be, so don't you go having second thoughts."

"So what are you going to do with the Jedi?" Mission changed the subject. "Once you win her, I mean."

"I'm going to give her to Carth. End of story. Jedi aren't my favorite species." Connan growled.

"**I was not aware that Jedi were species." **Zaalbar said, mispronouncing "Jedi".

"They are to me, big guy." Connan slapped the furball on the shoulder lightly.

"Break a leg out there, Connan!" Mission said, pushing the woman into the Rodian waiting for her. Then she laughed. "On second thought, don't."

"_Alright." _Connan thought to her other. _"It's just a swoop race. We can handle that, can't we?"_

"_We better be able to, since we only have five tries to win." _Jishin mused, forcing Connan forward with the Rodian. _"When did we swoop last?"_

"_I think it was back on Sajor—what—a year ago? Right before it—" _Connan stopped talking, knowing what her other was thinking.

"_Enough of that conversation. Let's just race."_

-----

They won the races on the first two tries. Connan stood on the platform, waiting for the judge to call her prize.

"**Ladies and gentlemen, I would like to announce the winner of this year's race: Connan Frai! And here to present her with her prize: Brejik of the Black Vulcars!" **The alien said. Connan crossed her arms as the arrogant Brejik strode up to the podium. His smug smile flashed in her direction as he ran a gloved hand through his greasy hair.

"People, hear me! Your winner has cheated!" He pointed straight at Connan. His smile now changed to a fierce snarl.

Both Connan and Jishin erupted in anger at the same moment, causing their vocals to split between the two.

"**_You're a damn liar, Brejik!"_** They screamed, one voice lower than the other so anyone could tell them apart. Brejik stepped back slightly, his black eyebrows raised and fear apparent on his face.

"As punishment to this _freak—_I withdraw my prize!" Brejik declared, thrusting a thumb in Bastila's direction.

"**But you know the rules, you can't do that!" **The judge stated. **"You're not allowed to take out any prizes used. All sets are final."**

"You fool!" Brejik took out a sword. "You think that your _rules _faze me? Vulcars, take this woman away!" Brejik pointed to Bastila once more.

"I'm afraid I might have something to say about that, Brejik."

The cage holding Bastila prisoner busted open and onto one guard's head, smashing his face in and killing him with its ferocity. The woman glided out of the cage, kicking the guard next to her in the stomach and taking his weapon.

Connan's neck hairs bristled at the sight of the woman. She suddenly got the urge to pull out her most deadly grenade and throw it onto Bastila's head.

"How could you escape from there?" A miffed Brejik stepped back. "That neural disruptor should have kept you in check! No normal Republican Senator could pull that off!"

"**_Is _that _what you thought she was? You idiot." _**Jishin and Connan spat literally onto the ground, watching the saliva dissolve into the dirt.

"You obviously underestimate the mind of a Jedi, Brejik. A mistake you won't live to make again." Bastila threatened, swinging her weapon around menacingly. She walked over to Connan and smirked.

"You dare threaten me?" Brejik was now sounding like a bratty little child that didn't get what he wanted now to Connan and Jishin. They quickly tired of hearing him talk. "Vulcars, to me! Kill this woman, kill the freak, kill them all!"

Twelve aliens surrounded Connan and Bastila, swishing around swords violently.

"**_We'll handle this," _**Connan and Jishin told Bastila coldly.

"My thoughts exactly." Bastila chided sweetly. Connan rolled her eyes.

"_We weren't talking to her." _She told her other inwardly.

"_I know that, I said the words too." _Jishin answered. "_Now fight!"_

Connan took out two swords.

"_I'll fight them. No one calls me a freak and gets away with it." _Connan slashed at one man, falling to the ground and rolling out of the way of his own sword. The blade slammed into the ground and seeped into the dirt, grinding itself into the texture. The man couldn't get his sword out of the ground. When Connan jumped to her feet again, she stabbed at the man, hitting him in his chest and killing him.

Connan leaped into the air, dodging yet another sword, this time from a Rodian hopped up on spice. His blood-shot foggy green eyes watered as he took a stab at Connan's bust. She flipped backwards, driving her blade into a man's back, who Bastila just happened to be fighting. Connan stuck her hand into her pocket and pulled out a frag grenade. She threw it at the Rodian just in front of her, clicking off the ring at the top moments before letting go of the explosive.

Three down, nine to go.

"You, freak!" Brejik shoved passed his own men hastily and came face-to-face with Connan. Her eyes hardened and she kept her glare constant on her face. "I'll kill you myself."

"**_We will enjoy wiping your blood from our blades, Brejik." _**Connan and Jishin said, amusement dripping from Jishin's side of the vocals. Connan dragged the sword across her tongue eagerly. She wasted no time in thrusting her sword into Brejik's armor. He parried and smashed the hilt of his sword into Connan's stomach. She cringed and cried out ever so slightly.

Connan growled angrily. She started rolling across the floor, out of the way of Brejik's life-threatening blade. She lifted herself up after an eighty degree turn and kicked Brejik's feet out from under him. He toppled onto the ground with a grunt, giving Connan time enough to stand. He scrambled up from the ground quickly and attacked Connan.

The woman blocked him beat-for-beat. Each time he struck out at her, she would block and attack with an equal force. The battle raged between them around the racing arena. The men still alive watched in horror as either their boss was getting annihilated or their savior was getting massacred.

"**_Die already!" _**Connan and Jishin cried impatiently, driving the flat side of the blade onto Brejik's face. A huge red mark surfaced, blood spilling everywhere. Connan smirked.

"**_Heh. Not so pretty now, eh, Pretty Boy?" _**They snarled at him. Brejik stepped backward.

"Now I recognize you!" He pointed at Connan, who stood straight.

"**_Truly? We're touched." _**Connan made their vessel bow.

"You're the General on Sajor! Everyone's been saying you were dead! What's the matter, couldn't handle the sight of that much blood?" Brejik taunted. Connan blanched.

"**_You…." _**Connan closed her eyes, feeling her shoulders shaking. She was furious. **_"How dare you. You have no right to… to bring that up!"_**

"So you are General Frai!" Brejik joked. "We could use someone of your—talents—in our gang."

Connan sighed, fighting to control her rage. She gripped a hand around her blade, cutting her hand. The blood ran off of her sword and _plopped _onto the ground.

Bastila nearly fainted at the next part.

Connan threw her sword at Brejik. _Quickly. _So quickly no one knew she'd thrown it.

Unfortunately for her, it landed three feet in front of him. Brejik stood there, laughing his head off.

"Not good aim, have you?" He asked. Connan continued to stare.

The vibrosword blew up. Brejik screamed. Connan jumped into the air. Bastila formed a shield around herself to protect her and the other spectators from the shock.

Connan landed in front of Brejik, who was on the ground, gasping for air. Her expression was emotionless, as if she had trained herself to use the face for emergencies long ago. Brejik looked up at Connan slyly.

"It's been a pleasure, General." He nodded his head solemnly. "Why did you blow up your weapon?"

Now Connan smirked.

"**_We have another." _**She whipped out her vibroblade and stabbed it into his neck. He cried out, then went limp. Brejik of the Black Vulcars was dead.

Connan jerked the blade out of his neck and licked off the blood.

"**_Hmmm…." _**She and Jishin observed. "Taste like scum." She threw the blade away.

"E-excuse me, but w-who are you?" Bastila wandered up to Connan, her jaw slacked and her joints limp. "And what just happened?"

Connan took a controlling breath. Jishin stripped her voice away from Connan's painfully, causing Connan to grab her throat and wheeze.

"Are you alright?" Bastila asked, holding up a reassuring hand to Connan. The latter of the two slapped the hand away.

"I'm fine," She managed, trying to stand. "Let's get going." Connan looked around at all the blood. She squinted her eyes, feeling sick. "They all gonna hurt me, I swear." She murmured. She stepped over the bodies, making her way to the exit. Bastila picked up her lightsaber from Brejik, along with his armor.

"Wait." She insisted. "You're that Republic soldier, I remember you! How did you find me? How many people survived? What just happened?"

"You ask a lot of questions, don't you?" Connan chided. "Now hurry up before I leave you here with all that icky blood."

"That display right there was very… well… Republican-y of you. How can I be sure you're good?" Bastila cocked an eyebrow. Connan groaned turning around.

"Don't you Jedi have that whole 'See-if-they're-lying-through-the-Force' crap you use? Or would you prefer to tie me up and have me give you directions back to the apartment?" Connan spat her words coldly. "Now come _on, _Carth is waiting on us."

"Carth? Finally, a bit of good news!" Bastila sighed, obviously relieved. She caught up with Connan. "Take me to him at once! I'm sure with his skills as a commander and my brains and your—well, you—we can come up with a way out of this place!"

Connan scowled.

"That's the plan."

THE END!

Sorry it took Sooooo long to update, I'll try to fix that. I hope everything was understood. Well, the Jishin and Connan talking at the same time thing. This is seventeen pages, so you people better have liked it! And this chapter I will reply reviews separately; I haven't been keeping up with that lately. I'll update soon, I promise!


	6. Taris V

"Bastila, you're alive!" Carth started as Connan shut the door, leaning against it and glaring. His tone became concerned as he checked over her body with his eyes, making Connan bristle. "What happened out there? Are you okay? Why are you covered in blood?"

"She wouldn't get out of my way. I told her I'd handle it." Connan tattled on the Jedi instantly, leering at the brunette standing beside her. Carth raised an eyebrow at her.

"Handle what? What happened to you?" He asked again, his hazel orbs burrowing into Connan. Connan rolled her eyes and made her way to Mission, who stood next to the kitchen table.

"I'm fine, Carth, don't worry. I just hope those Vulcars don't want to get at me anymore," Bastila reassured, ignoring Connan. The woman rolled her eyes

"Seeing as how I massacred half of their team, would they cower in fear, or not?" Connan snarled at the Jedi, now sitting on the table. She knocked over the holographic flower vase sitting there. No one regarded it.

"You killed half of the team?" Mission asked, her voice brightening. "What about Brejik? Did you kill him?"

"I sure did," Connan patted the table beside her, beckoning the Twi'lek child to sit with her. "Stabbed him in the neck." She motioned the movements with her hands, remembering the deed.

"After blowing up your sword and cutting your hand, I might add." Bastila smirked.

"You cut your hand?" Mission asked, grabbing Connan's hand—which was wrapped in a torn piece of cloth from one of the dead—and inspecting it. The cut was trying to close itself up, entrapping all of the germs and bacteria with it. "I'll clean it for you."

"Or better yet I'll heal it for her." Bastila walked up to Connan quickly, reaching out for the hand. Connan jumped up from the table, on the other side and away from the Jedi.

"You'll do no such thing!" She held her now bleeding hand protectively, getting her armor even more blood-encrusted. The poor woman was feeling a little lightheaded. "I don't want any of those Jedi farces anywhere near me." Bastila placed her hands on her hips.

"I'm standing right here."

"And you're as big a farce as farces can get." Connan back against the wall. "Keep those hands to yourself."

"Well then let me clean it. No Jedi tricks, I promise." Mission took Connan's hand again wearily and opened up a spare medpac stashed in the locker. Connan relaxed her hand and allowed the child to heal her hand. Mission took out an alcohol swab and began to clean the hand, sending a stinging sensation up Connan's arm. She disregarded it.

Carth went on. "We need to come up with a plan to get off this rock before the Sith find out they're missing their Jedi."

"You mean you don't have a plan to leave?" Bastila asked. "What have you been doing all this time?"

"Well, I certainly didn't want to find a Jedi, believe me. I was hoping to just stick around the cantina. _Onsai_, however, talked me into finding you. Can't say I was too happy, you'll be sure. But we found you. You owe us a favor now, you know." Connan barked, cutting off Carth's answer. Carth sighed, sitting down and waiting for this next argument to die down.

"There's no need to be rude!" Bastila scolded. "I am a member of the Jedi Order and I demand respect!"

"Yeah, well I demand not being in the same room as a pompous Jedi who _still _looks like she works as a cantina dancer, but we can't all get what we want, can we?" Connan smirked as she heard Mission giggle.

"Why must you insist on making everything so hard?" Bastila asked.

"Jeez, Jedi, I've only known you for about two hours and you're already saying I make things hard? I thought Jedi were supposed to be passive, and not judgmental." Connan crossed her legs and smiled.

"I am _not _being judgmental I'm merely… merely—"

"Can't think of anything can you?" Connan asked, beaming cunningly. "See, I'm right."

"If you aren't the most infuriating thing that crossed my path then—"

"Then you'll inform the Jedi Council of my bad Republic behavior? I'm scared, truly."

"You should be."

"You don't know the difference between sarcasm and reality, huh, Jedi?"

"My name is _not _Jedi! That is a title!"

"So I'm calling you by your title. I only call my friends by their names."

Bastila blanched.

"Well…." Carth stood again. "We should probably get out there and look for a way off the planet."

"I would suggest Davik Kang could help." Mission held a hand up, not taking her eyes away from the healing hand. "We could steal his ship."

"The _Ebon Hawk_? I've heard of it. I even saw it once when Davik made his rounds. Great guy, Davik is. I'll bet he'll let us in easy." Connan planned. "Great idea, _Mission_!" Connan stressed Mission's name, glancing at Bastila as she did.

"You're going to steal a ship from a guy you like?" Carth asked.

"Hey, if I can take armor and necessities off of a dead guy in the middle of a battle, I can steal a ship from the galaxy's best smuggler." Connan smirked, pulling her hand away from Mission.

"But I'm not done." Mission tried to grab the hand back. "It'll start bleeding again if I don't finish it right now."

"I'm a quick healer, don't worry. Besides, we need to go find a way to get to Davik." Connan bound the cut with a fresh cloth and ran a sticky hand through her clumped hair. "Let me take a shower first, then we'll head off."

-----

"No."

"No what?"

"No way in _hell _I'm meeting him."

"Why not?"

"Because he's a perverted Mandalorian with hands the size of my armor just _itching _too see what's _behind_ the armor! I'm not going anywhere near him!"

"Do you _want _to get off of this rock?"

"Yes…."

"Then _go meet with Candorous Ordo!" _Carth ordered. Connan crossed her arms.

"Alright, but if he touches me, I'll go after you." She teased Carth. "Mission, Onasi, you two are coming with me."

"You're not going to take me?" Bastila asked. "I'm the best fighter here!"

Connan bristled again, but held her sharp tongue. She blunted it lightly.

"I was going to leave you here incase the Sith decided to storm the apartments, you could show off your 'best fighter here' skills and save everyone, but if you're that desperate to come, then be my guest." Connan shrugged. "We're leaving, so either come or stay. Z, since you're a Wookie and these people don't agree that well with Wookies, I think it best if you stay here. Is that okay?"

Zaalbar bowed, roaring his answer. **"I would rather stay here and clean up this place. Mission is so sloppy."**

"I understood that, Big Guy!" Mission smiled. "Have fun." Zaalbar nodded.

Bastila closed the door behind her and jogged after Connan the others.

"So we're going to the Upper City cantina?" Mission asked nervously. "Will they allow a Twi'lek in there?"

"Stick with us, Mission. They'll let you in." Connan wrapped an arm around her friend's shoulders.

-----

"Hey, that Twi'lek shouldn't be in here!" the bartender pointed at Mission dejectedly. "This is the Upper City!"

"Really?" Connan sat down next to Mission in the bar, banging the table for some Tarisian alcohol. "You're not going to serve my friend? That's not very nice." The bartender stared at Connan.

"Oh, you're back! Are you going to play again?" The bartender handed Connan and Mission the yellow ale, foaming at the top.

"If there's time." Connan answered. "But I'm looking for someone right now."

"Who might that be?" The bartender asked.

"Someone called Candorous Ordo." Mission explained. "Seen him?"

"_Seen _him? He practically owns the bar!" The bartender exclaimed. "He said someone might be looking for him. But he described someone looking like one of the dancer girls up there…." The bartender pointed to the stage. Connan growled.

"I'll tear that Mandalorian limb-from-limb." She threatened. "Where is he?"

"He's over there." The bartender pointed a greasy finger into another room. Connan nodded her thanks and left, Mission following closely behind.

"What did that man mean, 'are you going to play again tonight?'?" Bastila asked, joining the two with Carth at her side.

"It's a story that I really don't want to tell right now." Connan explained. She entered the room. Candorous was sitting down with a mug in his hands. She sauntered over to his table and sat with him.

"Okay, Mandy." She snarled. He cocked an eyebrow at the name. "What did you want?"

"I _wanted _you to come alone, but I guess you didn't get the hint." He looked over Carth, Mission, and Bastila. "Made a new friend?" He referred to the latter.

"An acquaintance only. I need to get her where she needs to go, and then I'm returning to Sa—to where I came from." Connan stressed. Candorous laughed.

"I'm sure," He said. "You need a way off the planet."

"You must be smart."

"It's a gift, I'll admit."

"Are you sure? Because I was sure I caught the stench before the I.Q." Connan snarled, waving a hand back and forth in front of her nose.. Candorous laughed.

"Not like this isn't fun or anything, but we have things to attend to." He crossed his arms and leaned back. "I can get us to the _Ebon Hawk_."

"Why would you want to do that?" Mission blurted. "You work for the guy who owns it."

Candorous sighed, eyeing each and every one of them.

"He hasn't been paying me what I deserve recently. I don't like being cheated, so I want off this planet."

"I don't like this guy," Carth hissed into Connan's ear quickly. "He's a Mandalorian, and you can't trust those people."

"I wasn't talking to you, Republic Soldier." Carth scowled at the name. "I was talking to your friend." Candorous nodded to Connan, who sighed, deep in thought.

"He _has _a name, you know." Connan spouted, breaking her own train of thought.

"So do you, I'm sure." Candorous smirked.

"You tracked me down without knowing my name?" Connan gawked.

"It wasn't hard. All I had to do was ask for the winner of the swoop races." Candorous bragged. "So are you going to tell me your names, or am I going to have to guess?"

"I suppose I could let you in. The guy Carth Onasi, the Twi'lek is Mission Vao—be nice to her. I'll know if you aren't." Connan thrust her thumb in the now-beaming Mission's direction. "And the Jedi is Bastila."

"I'm sure it should be a pleasure." Candorous cast a suspicious look toward Bastila. Connan grinned.

"So you want to hitch a ride with us?" Connan got back on topic. Candorous nodded. "Well, how would we get past the Sith quarantine?"

"I've got it covered. Davik's ship is the fastest in the entire galaxy, so once you get a hold of the target codes we can bypass the auto-targeting Sith quarantine and leave." Candorous explained.

Connan rubbed her chin.

"_Can we trust him?" _She asked Jishin cautiously.

"_I don't see any reason as to why not." _Jishin explained. She looked the Mandalorian up and down. _"Though he is a Mandalorian, and a big pervert, I don't sense anything bad will happen in giving him a ride somewhere."_

"_Alright."_ Connan inwardly shook hands with her twin.

"Fine. How do we get the codes?" Connan asked out loud.

"They're in the Sith base." Candorous informed. Connan stood.

"Dammit, Mandy, how am I supposed to get inside that base?" She shouted.

"Go buy that droid from Janice Nall, the one called T3-M4. Tell her Candorous sent you, and she'll let you get it. He's got the equipment needed to get inside that base." Candorous said. "I'll be waiting in Javyar's cantina. Go there once you've got the codes."

"Yeah, yeah. You owe me. Big time." Connan snarled. "Let's go."

-----

"Hello, Janice." Connan called as she sauntered into the shop. Mission, Bastila and Carth left her there for their apartment. "I'm back!"

"**Ooh! Big swoop racer! I saw you at the race!" **Janice called, waving excitedly. **"What can I get for you?"**

"I need that droid. Candorous sent me to pick it up." Connan pointed to the silver droid farthest from her. It studied her finger and beeped its approval. "Can I get it from you?"

"**Ah, Candorous sent you!" **The Twi'lek clapped. **"Of course! Two thousand credits and I'll give it to you."** Connan faltered.

"Two _thousand _credits? That's all I have!" She counted up the credits in her datapad. "That's robbery. Can I make you go lower?"

"**Not likely."** Janice crossed her arms. **"If you work for Candorous, then I expect you to have a little money on you."**

"You won't go lower, then." Connan said nonchalantly. Subconsciously, her hand waved by her side.

"**I won't lower." **Janice repeated.

"You won't lower at _all_?" Connan's hand shuffled across her waist now. The Twi'lek nodded fiercely.

"**I won't lower at all." **Connan started, leaning backwards and raised an eyebrow. What was going on?

"_Why is she repeating everything we say?" _She asked Jishin. _"What are you doing?"_

"_I'm not doing anything!" _Jishin answered. _"Watch when we tell her something. Our hand moves. I haven't moved it. Have you?" _The twin in question held up the hand. Connan studied it.

"_Not that I remember." _Connan held up her own wrist, cradling it in the other hand. _"Let's try it."_

"So you're going to lower the price." Connan watched her hand as she spoke to Janice. The muscles sprang to life before both Jishin and Connan could stop them, brushing lightly through the air.

"**So, I'm going to lower the price."** Janice shrugged. **"Fifteen hundred."**

The thought of what happened hit both Connan and Jishin at the same time. Connan gasped, stepping backward and sticking her hand in her armor.

"_Jedi trick!" _The two cried simultaneously.

"D-deal." Connan slapped Janice's hand and transferred the credits nervously.

"**Come back now!"** Janice called.

"Yeah, sure." Connan bustled to the droid. "So, T3-M4, huh?" She asked it. The droid nodded. It began beeping in a line of whoops and whirls.

Connan chuckled. "I'll bet," She chided. "Now let's go. I need you to do something for me." She waved him to the front door. As he strode up to the front, his joints creaked.

"Wait." She called to him. He turned to stare at her. "Let's head back to my apartment, first. We need to make a plan. And I'll be able to fix those joints on you. You sound like you were thrown into the trash compactor and then taken out just before you were crushed."

The droid whooped, offended. Listening, Connan shrugged.

"Well, trash compactor, garbage disposal, almost same thing. Let's head out."

-----

The droid filed into the room and took a spot in the corner to stay. Connan stormed in and threw her backpack onto her bunk. She stomped up to the workbench and began pounding on her vibroblade.

"Got the droid." She snapped at Carth, who stood behind her in near shock. She didn't look up from her work as she upgraded the grip. "Got to fix him, though. Take me about a day. Come up with a plan until then, okay Onasi?"

Carth licked his lips nervously. What had set her off?

"Alright." He continued to stare at her as she poured her anger out on her work. "Is… something wrong?"

"No! Why would anything be wrong, _Onsai_?" The sarcasm dripped from her mouth.

"Well, you're snarling, and somehow, there's blood all over your blade." Carth sat on his bed, still observing Connan. She pulled her hand away from her work, and saw the blood smeared where she just placed her right hand. Connan glanced at her hand. The cut had reopened.

Anger shot through the woman again. She kicked the workbench.

"Damn," She whispered, trying to find a spare medpac. "Damn, I hate when I do that!" She kicked the workbench again.

Zaalbar came in from the refresher and growled in a low tone.

"**Could you please stop kicking things?" **He asked. **"Either you're going to break the wall, or you're going to attract unwanted attention."**

"Yeah, yeah." Connan gave up the search for a medpac and settled for a strip of cloth from her bag. She began trying to stop the blood, grunting whenever she pressed too hard in her expedition. She sat at the table, holding her bloody arm onto the surface.

Carth sighed. Something had gotten Connan stirred up like that. Standing, he walked over to the cabinet and pulled out an advanced medpac. He sat on the seat opposite of Connan and pulled her hand from her grasp.

"Here." He said, opening the pack and pulling out the disinfectant. He placed her hand gently on top of his hand. Connan watched with earnest, letting her hand lay limp inside his. He softly cleaned the wound. "You being angry at a scratch isn't going to make it better." He explained kindly. Connan chuckled.

"No, but waving my hand in front of Janice Nall got her to lower her price for the droid." She murmured harshly. Carth's ears perked.

"What?" He asked, not taking his eyes off of her wound. "What happened in there?"

"Nothing much. She wanted two thousand for a droid, and I asked her if she would lower it. She kept repeating my words. I figured out I was moving my hand whenever I spoke to her. I figured that might have been the reason why she was turning into the alien parrot. So I told her she would lower the price and swayed my hand in front of her. She repeated me _again_, and lowered the price to fifteen hundred!" Connan ran her good hand through her hair.

"But, isn't that a Jedi trick?" Carth now stared at Connan, concern marking his face. Connan didn't try to hide the disgust on her face.

"That's what I thought. Where _is _the Jedi, anyway? I haven't her from her or Mission." Connan glanced around the room. Only T3-M4 and Zaalbar inhabited the room, along with Carth and herself.

"They're taking a tour. Bastila wants to get a feel for the planet before she goes masquerading around it." Carth pulled out a long, white bandage from the advanced pack. He gently started to wrap it around Connan's hand.

"Hah! That's a laugh." She barked. "Jedi aren't supposed to _feel _anything." Carth frowned.

"What do you have against Bastila, anyway?" He asked, securing the bandage onto her hand. He let her hand go abruptly. "You're so rude to her, it's scary. I mean, you're rude period, but it _mean _to do it with Bastila around."

"I've got nothing against Bastila, per se." Connan stood, stretching. "It's the Jedi I'm not particularly fond of."

"Why not? They're friends to the Republic." Carth argued.

"Well, I haven't lived in the Republic." Connan countered. Carth bristled.

"They're in the Outer Rim, too."

"I know that all too well." Connan crossed her arms, careful not to hurt her bandaged hand.

"So why do you hate them so vilely? What wrong have they done you?" Carth inquired. Connan's temper flared again.

"It's not what they _did_; it's what they _didn't _do. It's what they could have done. It's what they did not even try to attempt."

"And what was that?" Carth himself was getting a little frustrated. Connan hesitated.

"The Jedi preach tranquility; they preach serenity and peace. That doesn't mean they are the perfect precedent."

"That doesn't answer the question." Carth said.

"It didn't, did it?" Connan smirked. "Get used to disappointment."

"You're going to have to tell me sooner or later." Carth drew his own cunning grin across his face.

"Better later then sooner." Connan glanced at the new droid, who was trying to get their attention. She read the beeps that he talked. "Yeah, I'm on it. I'll go the large wrench and oil."

She left the room.

-----

"You wanted something?" Connan stared up blankly at Bastila, who stood in front of her. Connan sat on the floor, her back leaning against the steel wall and her legs drawn up beside her. Carth stood in a different corner, watching the two out of the corner of his eyes, just in case he would have to intervene anything.

"Well, yes, if you'd be considerate enough to talk to me." Bastila bowed her head slightly.

"I suppose," Connan stood so the Jedi wouldn't have to look down on her. "What was it?"

"I was wondering about you, actually. How did you manage to find me?" Bastila asked.

"I didn't," Connan popped her head against the wall a few times out of boredom, each time pulling it back to glance at Bastila. "_Onsai_, Mission, and Big Z helped."

"At least you have modesty." Bastila started. Connan bristled. Before she could utter any foul words, Bastila continued. "But you did most of the work. You tracked down the Beks, found out where I was, and got me out of the swoop race without the Sith noticing you here."

"So what? It's nothing new," Connan shrugged.

"Hmm… I'm sure." Bastila looked down. "Such abilities are the qualities of a Jedi. Perhaps if you were younger, we could have—"

"This conversation is over." Connan snapped.

"Have I over-stepped my authority?" Bastila sounded abashed.

"Jedi, you've leapt off a cliff as far as I'm concerned." Connan shrugged, moving away from Bastila.

"Why must you be so rude to me? What have I done to you?" Bastila argued, her anger steadily rising. Connan balled her fists together.

"You're a Jedi. That's enough for me."

"Very well, what do you have against the Jedi Order?"

"What _don't _I have against them?" Connan countered. Mission looked up from her blaster on the workbench to supervise the growing argument between the two.

"Easy, you two."

They ignored her

"That says nothing. As far as I know you are just power jealous." Bastila crossed her arms.

Connan's rage started up again.

"Power… jealous?" She repeated, her shoulders shaking. "You _dare _call me power jealous?"

"Hey, Connan." Mission ran over and laid her hands on the woman's shoulders. "It's okay. Take a deep breath."

"Yes, I called you power jealous. That's what you are unless you can give me a reasonable answer." Bastila raised an eyebrow. Connan's shoulders tensed immensely and her eyes sealed shut.

"Bastila, stop it." Carth ordered, placing a hand on Connan's shoulder. He squeezed it tight enough for her to look up at him. He smiled at her. "You're being irrational. There's no reason to be so distraught. If she doesn't want to tell you why she doesn't like Jedi, she doesn't have to tell you."

"_Finally he agrees with us." _Jishin stuck out her tongue.

"I am not being irrational." Bastila insisted. "I'm trying to get an answer out of her."

"Why not use your stupid Jedi Tricks?" Connan spat.

"I might," Bastila chided. Connan spun around and attempted to lunge at Bastila. Mission and Carth held her back.

"Try it and I'll rip your arms off." Connan threatened. She stood straight, and sighed. "I'm heading for the cantina. Want to come, Mission?"

"Sure, I'll come." Mission grabbed Connan's beige bag and handed it to her. Connan took it and headed for the door.

Once Mission and Connan were outside, the tears of anger tried to break through. Connan fought to hold them back, at least until they were outside the apartment complex.

"You okay?" Mission asked, staring at her friend. Connan nodded.

"Perfect."

"Liar."

Outside the apartment complex, Connan leaned against the wall, breathing in the outside air. She leaned up against the steel wall and allowed the anger to be let loose. Tears streamed down her face uncontrollably.

"That's what I thought." Mission embraced Connan. "It's okay, okay? Forget about Bastila; she didn't mean any of it."

The doors to the apartments opened and Carth ran out, stopping as he saw Connan. The woman turned around, folding her arms together and holding a hand up to her mouth.

"Connan," He started. She wouldn't face him. "What got Bastila so riled up in there?"

"I couldn't care less. She's a Jedi; she'll blame it on me." Connan's voice started breaking. She hated herself.

"_We're crying in front of Onasi." _Connan thought solemnly.

"Aw, hell, it probably is my fault." Connan kicked the steel wall with her thin shoe as hard as she could. She felt her toes crack, but ignored the pain. "Why, of all the things in the world to save, did I have to go and rescue a Jedi?"

"Come on, let's go and get you a drink." Mission tugged her friend toward the other side of the walkway. "Carth, go and talk with Bastila."

"Easier said than done." Carth answered. He stared at Connan, still hugging her sides and staring at the ground. He squeezed her shoulder again. "Hey," He uttered loud enough so she could hear. "Calm down, okay? It was nothing. Just a conversation with a Jedi gone horribly wrong."

Connan chuckled, gathering up the courage to look at Carth straight-on.

"Truthfully, Onasi," She began walking away as she spoke. "If I were in your shoes, the Jedi would look like millions of Saul Karaths."

THE END!

**Yeah it got pretty dark at the end. But don't worry, Bastila somehow manages to become friends with Connan after a while. The next chapter they tackle both the Sith and the Exchange, and are in possession of the _Hawk _by the end of the chapter! Yay! ((claps))**

**I honestly don't know if I'm going to update Choices No One Should Make next, or Just Like Me. Then again, I should also update The Phantom Menace. So much to do, and I'm already working on another one-shot. This is going to be one BIG spring break.**

**Have a great spring break everyone!**


	7. Taris VI

The next day, Connan spent the entire time mending T3-M4. She never left his casing, and was constantly with a tool in her hand and messing with something. By the time the sun went down, she had even waxed his armor so he looked brand new. T3-M4 stood beeping and whooping happily once she was done. He circled the room, testing out his new wheels and beaming.

Carth crossed his arms and smirked at Connan, who watched the droid circle the room with a smile of her own.

"You did a good job on him." Carth startled Connan slightly. "He looks like he was just created."

"Yes, I must say that's the best I've ever done on a droid before." She took out a rag and began wiping all of the oil from her hands. "I always tend to work a little better when I'm expecting something to happen."

"Handy to have in a war." Carth chided, sitting at the table. Connan nodded to the spastic T3-M4.

"So is he." She said, joining him at the table. "Not only is he one of the best at repair and computer hacking, he's got rock-solid armor and one gun for stunning and another for the actual firing."

"You did all that in one day?" Carth was amazed. Connan jumped, staring wide-eyed at him.

"Day?" Connan repeated. "What time is it?" She glanced at the clock. "Whoa. It's 7:54. I've been working on that droid for fourteen hours."

"How long did you think it was?" Carth raised an eyebrow.

"Two, at least." Connan turned red as Carth giggled. "I get caught up in my work."

"Speaking of work," Carth changed the subject, pulling out a map of the Sith base. "Here's what we have. This is the layout of the Sith building. The codes stay at the very top with the Sith apprentice at all times. We have to start out at the bottom."

"Okay, so we take you, me, Mission, and the little droid and fight our way up to the top of the Sith base?" Connan asked.

"That's the plan." Carth smirked.

"Good."

"What about Bastila?" Carth asked, hesitating before saying the name. Connan bristled, looking away.

"We can just tell her that it's safer for her here where the Sith aren't." Connan crossed her arms and leaned back in the chair. Carth shrugged.

"All right, then."

-----

Connan stood huffing in front of the Sith apprentice, her hair frizzled out everywhere and her clothes more than a little bloody. Carth leaned beside her, injecting himself with a kolto pack.

"You look weary." The Sith taunted. "Let me kill you and you can rest."

"You look ugly," Connan countered. "But I'm nice enough not to comment on it," The Sith growled at her.

"Frai, just take one of the kolto packs," Carth sternly hissed. Connan shook her head.

"I hate kolto. It's thick and sticky and takes forever to come off unless you're somewhere near a 'fresher." She answered just as stubbornly. T3-M4 beside her, whooping his disagreement. "I don't care if it _is _good for me, T3, I don't want it."

"That's right," The Sith apprentice chided. "She's easier to kill this way."

"I'm sure," Connan panted, holding out her two vibroswords.

"With your death, my master will surely present me with my lightsaber." The Sith dreamily cooed to himself.

"Yeah, and you're going to pay for making my life a living hell." Connan droned, the sarcasm evident in her voice. She lunged at the Sith, her strength sparking back to life.

The Sith easily evaded her attack and placed one of his own at her back. With amazing speed, one of Connan's arms spun around and blocked it while the other one held onto the ground. Connan used her hand on the ground to flip herself over and knock the Sith down. She jumped to her feet and attempted to stab her blade into his chest. He blocked it, Force Pushing her backward into the wall.

Connan was exhausted without the use of the kolto, and when she impacted into the wall, Carth could hear a large _crack _emit from her. He cringed and leapt over to help her up. She lay on the floor in a pile, trying to pull herself up.

Connan felt her knee crack painfully as she slammed into the wall; she still forced herself up off the floor, keeping the weight off of the wounded knee. Carth sighed next to her.

"You're going to be the death of me," He murmured.

"Oh, I love you, too." Connan seethed, wincing in pain. She stared at the Sith.

"You're in no condition to fight," Mission insisted, holding her vibroblade in a stance of warning to the Sith.

"I know, but I will anyway." Connan answered, putting away her two blades and reaching into her backpack. "Stand back."

She jumped at the Sith, placing a hand on his head and another on his back. She yanked his head backward and skidded away from him. The Sith lost balance and fell onto his back. Connan covered her head and the man exploded into nothing, the remains turning to dust and settling on top of Connan, Carth, and Mission. The man's robes fluttered onto the ground and gently _fwumped _to a stop.

Connan clung to the wall and pulled herself up, shaking all of the dust off of her. She limped over to the robes and pulled out the launch codes.

"Your knee." Carth picked up Connan and set her on the ground, examining her knee. The bone was sticking out from its usual place, showing a large bump on her cap. Mission hissed and looked away. "It's broken."

"Nothing Zelka can't fix. We can give him the serum while we're there." Connan tried to stand again. Carth held her down.

"You are _not _going to just walk out of here like there's nothing wrong with your leg."

"There _is _nothing wrong with my leg. I can walk." Connan tried once more to stand. Carth pushed her back down.

"You can, but we're not going to let you." Mission smirked. Carth nodded.

"There's no one left in this base, we can carry you out without much trouble." He said. Connan growled.

"How far?" She asked.

"To Zelka's."

"Well, that's not too bad, I suppose…."

"I'm not going to let a soldier walk on a broken knee." Carth said the wrong thing. Connan puffed up.

"Soldier?" She repeated. "I can walk on my own knee, thanks." She pressed.

"You can't and you won't." Carth argued, picking her up so her knee rested over his left arm and her neck over his right. She gasped at the quick motion, tensing her muscles. She instantly let her muscles go as a sharp pain shot up her knee. "See? Now just stop struggling."

"Connan, you're turning red." Mission giggled at the flushed woman.

"Mission! Come here so I can smack you!" Connan snapped. Mission burst out laughing.

"No thanks. I'm fine right back here."

Carth ignored their banter; he focused on getting through the hallways without knocking Connan's knee into anything. He made it to the front of the Sith base and sighed. His arms were getting tired.

"Will you let me walk now, Onasi?" Connan asked impatiently. "Before you drop me and make me worse?"

"I'm _not _going to drop you," Carth snarled, finding new strength. He repositioned his arms without moving Connan and stepped outside. Zelka's shop was just on the other side of the street.

"A few more steps and you'll be walking on your own, Frai." Carth emphasized.

"How much is a few? Like, a half a step? Because that would be awesome." Connan tensed again, ignoring the pain in her leg. Connan ignored her and walked quickly to Zelka's Medical Shop.

"Welcome," He said before looking up. He gasped. "My, my." He pointed to a table where Carth set Connan down. She rolled her eyes.

"She broke her knee." Carth told him. Zelka nodded.

"I can see that, as well as many other scratches on her. Does she need the kolto tank?" He asked.

"No, that's okay." Connan answered quickly. "It's alright. Just heal my leg and we'll be out of here." Shrugging, Zelka shot a numbing juice into Connan's leg and pushed the bone back in place.

"It'll be a little sore for a while. And you'll have a nasty bruise on the top of the cap for a few weeks, but it should pass." Zelka said. "When it starts to get stiff, inject this into it." He handed Connan a needle and a bottle with the medicine she needed.

"Thanks." Connan stood again; putting all of her weight on her other leg since the broken one was numb. "And look what we found!" She pulled out the Rakghoul Serum.

"You found it!" Zelka snatched the serum away excitedly and examined it. "I'll start reproducing this right away. Thank you so much, traveler!" Connan nodded, limping out of the med bay.

"Where do you think you're going?" Carth scooped Connan up again, receiving a complacent groan from her.

"I was _going _to go to Javyar's cantina." She scowled darkly.

"Not with a purple knee." Mission insisted. "We're going back to the apartment." Connan lay limp in Carth's arms, giving up.

"Fine, whatever."

-----

"What happened to _her_?" Bastila asked when they returned. Carth set a fuming Connan down onto her bed. She stuck her tongue out at the Jedi, who simply chuckled at her inconvenience.

"Get some ice." Carth told Mission. She nodded. Carth took a few pillows and elevated the knee. "You have to keep the knee in the air, okay, Frai?"

"Yeah, yeah." She crossed her arms and pouted her lip.

"You're welcome." Carth smiled. She stuck her tongue out at him.

"Mandy's going to wonder what I did with his codes."

"I thought you didn't care about 'Mandy'."

"I don't, I just don't want to tell him I got carried half-way across Telos because of a broken knee."

"You broke your knee?" Bastila examined the knee. "It looks fine; did you go to Zelka's?"

"She wouldn't let us put her in the kolto tank or use a kolto pack on her." Carth tattled on her.

"I hate kolto. It's—"

"'Thick and sticky and takes forever to clean off', I know." Carth mimicked.

"If you _know _then why won't you leave me alone about it?" Connan spat. Carth got close to her ear and whispered,

"You're cute when you're mad."

He walked out of the room. Connan stared at the door which he used to leave, shocked into a red embarrassment. Bastila watched Connan anxiously, trying to get the woman's attention.

"Excuse me, Connan." She said. Connan slowly turned to her, an eyebrow raised. "I wanted to say I'm sorry. I let my anger get the best of me and it got me into all kinds of trouble. I apologize."

"Uhh, sure." Connan raised an eyebrow.

"And I hope tomorrow you'll allow me to go to the Exchange with you. I can be an asset."

"_Ha! She really puts the 'ass' in asset." _Jishin joked.

"_You've got that right."_

"Sure, whatever."

There was an unsettling silence between the two that got Connan thinking. She had to get Carth back _somehow_ for making a big show out of her leg. And he said "You're cute when you're mad." Who says that? It infuriated the woman that Carth get so much pleasure from annoying her.

"So," She said, watching Bastila's head pop up at being addressed. "Want to mess with Carth's mind a little?"

-----

**Jishin was gone again.**

"**_Jishin!" _Connan was in a frenzied panic. She couldn't find her other self. _"Jishin, where are you?"_**

"**_I'm here—" _Jishin couldn't finish her sentence. Someone whizzed past Connan, knocking her down. The black cloaked woman was trapped in the room with Connan as the doors opened to reveal someone.**

**Bastila.**

**Connan stood, testing out her purple knee to find it wasn't hurting at all. She stared at Bastila.**

"_**Jishin? Are you here?"**_

"_**Look here! Help! I—I can't—"**_

**Connan couldn't find Jishin. And Bastila was nearing the cloaked woman. The cloaked woman charged three Dark Jedi at Bastila, who easily knocked them down. She held her finger to the cloaked woman.**

"_**You cannot win, Revan."**_

**Connan started, staring at the cloaked woman, apparently Revan.**

"**_Jishin?" _She called.**

"**_Here! Please, for the love of gods—"_**

**Bastila threw her lightsaber at Revan, who still stood solemnly. Without thinking of why, Connan lunged into the way. The lightsaber was not calculated to hit someone that close, and the hilt smacked Connan in the face, falling to the ground and constricting itself.**

Connan yanked herself up from the bed, letting out a yell and panting. She propped herself up with her arms behind her and glanced around the dark room. As her eyes adjusted to the room, she saw Mission turn over in her sleep and Bastila sitting cross-legged in meditation. Zaalbar was probably in the next room, sleeping on a rug next to T3-M4.

"_Jishin?"_ Connan called, looking around. _"Are you there?"_

"_I'm here." _She materialized next to Connan, who sighed.

"_Don't ever do that again."_

"Frai?"

Connan gasped, jumping as Carth called her name. He sighed, smirking sheepishly.

"Sorry, I didn't mean to scare you." He pulled a few pillows from his bed and sat them behind her so she could sit up. "Are you alright? You look really pale, and there's a red mark across your face. Did something hit you?"

Now able to use her arms, Connan felt her face, and felt the small indentation and heat from it. Where the lightsaber had hit her. She bristled.

"What happened?" Carth asked, sitting next to her.

"Uhh… just a bad dream. It's nothing." Connan waved off the question.

"It doesn't look like it was nothing." Carth stared at her knee. "Is that knee high enough? No, you kicked all of the pillows off. And you're cold! I'll go turn on the heat." Carth re-elevated her knee and turned up the temperature.

"You don't have to," Connan attempted to get out of the bed. Carth pushed her back, careful not to upset her knee.

"Don't get up." He ordered. "Your knee is still really purple." She sighed, laying back onto the pillows.

For a moment they were silent. Connan sat, staring at the white sheets covering her chest. Her thumbs twiddled subconsciously as she sighed. She broke the silence.

"Hey, Carth?" She asked. He stared at her.

"Hmm?"

"Are you alright? You've been awfully quiet since we got back from Zelka's, you know."

"Yeah… why?" Carth raised an eyebrow. Connan shook her head.

"Never mind, I just wanted to discuss something with you."

"You do?" That surprised Carth. "Well, alright, what did you want to talk about?"

"We didn't really finish our conversation from last time…." Connan glanced away.

"I'm sorry. I knew you wouldn't understand where I was coming from," Sighing deeply, he leaned forward in his chair. "Let me try to explain." He took a breath. "You're probably one of the most skilled women I've ever met. You've saved my butt more than once and I'm lucky you're here to help me, no question." Connan crossed her arms and stared at the sheets in front of her, stifling a chuckle. She hadn't saved him _once_. If anything, he'd saved her stubborn ass from dying more than she'd though possible.

"But that doesn't mean I'm going to stop watching you or being wary. I'm just not built that way. Period."

She bristled.

"And _what_, pray tell, are you watching me for?" She snarled. Carth pulled in a breath, startled at the mood swing from the woman.

"I don't know that yet." Carth stammered. "Like I said before, it's probably nothing. But I've been betrayed before by people and I…" Connan was turning red, trying to hold back her words. "Well… it just won't happen again. That's all."

"Of _course _it won't happen again if you don't trust anybody!" She hissed loudly. Her silky voice stung Carth across the face as if she's slapped him with a whip.

"Look…. I'm not trying to insult you. This is just the way I am. No need to take it personally."

If Connan had control over her purple knee, she would have stood up and slugged Carth.

"Don't tell me not to take anything personally, you hairless Wookie!" She said in her normal voice, forgetting about Mission sleeping in the next bed and the meditating Bastila.

Carth pushed down a laugh, on the other hand. "Hairless Wookie? Alright, sister. Just… just calm down before your head explodes."

"We'll see whose head explodes, ungrateful monkey-lizard!" Carth was getting a little hot, too.

"Is that your idea of an insult? Come on, sister, take your best shot."

"SEXLESS MARSH-TOAD!" Connan snapped, shouting the words in a hushed whisper. Mission turned over in her sleep, letting out a strained, yet content sigh.

"Ouch," Carth held his chest protectively. "You hurt my man-feelings there."

"You had it coming." Connan spat.

"I guess I did. Feel better now?" Carth pushed her arm with his thumb slightly. Connan slouched in her sitting position.

"A little." She pouted.

"Good, then maybe we can talk reasonably about this." Carth rested his elbows on her bed, making him look up at her and her look down at him. Connan smirked. "All I've been trying to say is that this isn't personal. If you were smart, you wouldn't trust anyone, either… not me, not Bastila—well, bad example. Not me, not Mission, not even yourself. Especially not yourself."

Connan stared at Carth in blatant shock. Then, slowly, her mouth pursed into a snarl and her eyes narrowed.

"How do you live with yourself?" She asked, her voice barely a whisper.

"Excuse me?" Carth cocked an eyebrow, clearly bewildered.

"How can you call yourself a soldier of the Republic? How can you call yourself a captain? How can you call yourself _human_?" Connan asked.

"What are you talking about?"

"The whole basis of commanding something, being a part of something, being _loyal _to anything is _trust_. You can't get anything done without trusting those around you. Taking control of a fleet of soldiers and not trusting the soldiers with their jobs is just as bad as shooting each and everyone when they're blindfolded. You can't be successful in anything without trust. You might be betrayed every now and then, but not everyone in the universe is going to stab you in the back." Connan recited.

"One man might sell his soul to the Dark Side for some reason, whether it's for power or—_loved ones_—and end up wiping out a whole side of a planet, but you're just as betrayed as everyone around you. You're in the same danger as everyone around you. The others who survive go on in their lives, rising up again through different spots of command to reprogram what was lost. What makes you so different from them? What excuse do you have to not trust anyone after everyone else has lived on in their lives?"

Carth fumed. This woman had the answers for everything, didn't she? Yet, what she said made a lot of sense. Carth shook his head.

"Is that what happened to you?" He asked. "Were you high up in the commanding status on Sajor, and someone betrayed you? Did your organization come tumbling down around you?"

"Organization? Onasi, we're talking about the whole _left hemisphere _of Sajor. It's nothing more than a large asteroid field now." Connan stopped herself from saying more.

Bastila stirred from her meditation, yawning. Connan glared at the woman, as if she was unusual in some way. Well, yeah, she was a Jedi. But another reason. A reason Connan couldn't make out.

Had she been awake when Carth and Connan started talking?

Connan snatched one of the pillows out from behind her and with lightning speed chunked it at Bastila's head. The surprised Jedi took the assault head-on, falling back onto the wall and gasping for breath. Connan chuckled.

"Next time you want to listen in on a conversation, don't try to act asleep."

Bastila groaned, cradling her nose as she stood up.

"If you knew I was listening, why not hit me sooner?" She snarled.

"Because if I had hit you sooner, Carth would have stopped talking." Connan answered. Her grin grew as she glanced from Bastila—who was smiling as well—and Carth, who had a look of shock on his face.

"What are you, my therapist?" Carth stood, tightening his fists.

"Well I don't see you talking to anyone else! And jeez, with all the problems you have, I'm surprised you've survived this long without tumors." Connan threw her arms into the air. "And Mission over there is lucky I didn't decide to hit her, too."

Mission sat up, laughing and holding her stomach.

"You caught me!" She giggled.

"Why can't there be any privacy in this house?" Carth stormed out of the room. Connan burst out laughing with Mission.

"You know," She said to Bastila. "For a Jedi, that was pretty well planned."

"Yes, well, as strange as it may seem, I _do _have a sense of humor." Bastila crossed her arms.

"I'm sure you do," Connan decided that was enough warming up to the Jedi, but Bastila had no intention of stopping their conversation.

"Is that a red mark across your face?" She asked, a little miffed. Connan's hand slapped onto her face and felt the indentation and heat still on her face. She growled.

"Dreams do the strangest things to me." Connan murmured, lying back down. She turned her head to Mission, who was looking back and forth from Bastila and Connan.

"Go to sleep, Mission." Connan ordered. "We have a big day tomorrow."

Mission lay back down on her bed and sighed, pulling the covers back up to her neck. Before Connan could doze off for the night, Mission whispered one last thing.

"I knew you were from Sajor."

Connan threw the aforementioned pillow at a squealing Mission.

-----

"You're limping." Candorous observed as Connan, Carth, Bastila and Mission entered the cantina the next morning. Connan yawned toothily, rubbing her face. The redness had gone down from the mark on her face, but the heat had remained. She had an arm slung around Carth, who stood silently and solemnly as she used him as a brace.

"You're ugly."

"Well, we're on a tight schedule, so I'm not going to play this game today. I know someone broke into the Sith base yesterday. And I know that it was you. I know you've got the codes I need.

"What do you say? You and I can team up together and steal the _Ebon Hawk_. We can leave right now." Candorous smirked.

"Well, I suppose…." Connan scratched the back of her head with her free hand.

"Then let's get going." Candorous immediately left the cantina. Connan sighed.

"Great. More walking."

"Would you rather Carth carry you again?" Mission joked, grinning. Connan tensed.

"No, that's okay. I'll just walk." She held up a hand. Carth rolled his eyes and began walking.

"If I'm not any stronger physically by the time this is over…" He murmured.

"You'll at least know how to help a girl with a purple knee walk." Connan barked. "Can't you speed it up a little?"

"You're really working him today, Connan." Mission giggled.

"If he doesn't trust me I get to act like an ass." Connan grinned.

"I never agreed to this." Carth snarled.

"They never do…" Connan and Bastila said simultaneously. Bastila paled as Connan looked back at her quizzically. Mission just laughed.

"What do you bet you two come out of this being best friends?" She asked. Connan stuck her tongue out at Mission.

"Don't count on it." She said, a hint of playfulness in her voice.

"It would take a miracle." Bastila agreed.

"If it'll take all of the weight off of me, I'll support their friendship." Carth whined.

"Oh, men are such babies. Please, tell us of how heavy I am at my one-hundred and ten pounds." Connan whispered in his ear. He bristled.

"Have you ever carried one-hundred and ten pounds?" He snapped. Connan laughed.

"I can go through it without complaining." She insisted. "Or would you rather let me walk on my own. I will."

"No, that's okay." Carth cringed at the thought of Connan in constant pain as she walked on her bad knee.

"Really, I can walk on my own if that's what you want." Connan slipped her arm off of Carth slightly, feeling the man tense. His grip tightened on her wrist.

"Damn woman, why must you make me so frustrated with you?" He growled. Connan leaned into his ear and whispered in a velvety voice.

"You're cute when you're mad."

"Are you guys lagging on purpose?" Candorous called from ahead. "Hurry it up! The tran's about to leave."

-----

The room they entered was a circular, light blue throne room. Only Davik stood at the entrance, with a ridiculously pink armor on his chest and his hair brushed into a comb-over.

"Get in my bag and pull out that needle, Mission. My knee's getting stiff." Connan called. The Twi'lek nodded, going through Connan's beige holder quickly. She handed the woman the small bottle.

"Ah, Connan Frai, we meet again!" Davik held out a black-gloved hand. "After what I heard about your poor system, I didn't think you alive."

"I'm hard to kill." Connan winced as she injected one of the syringes into her leg, loosening the muscles. She replaced the nozzle in her bag and shook Kang's hand.

"I can tell. What have you been doing to yourself? Ricky would be ashamed." Davik raised an eyebrow as he inspected her, taking a hesitant moment at her knee.

"Actually, I think Ricky would laugh." Connan shrugged.

"Who's Ricky?" Carth hissed in Connan's ear.

"An old associate. He's a Cathar." Connan whispered in the same manner. "His real name is Rrrrikkkrrrrroaw, but only people who speak fluent Cathar can pronounce it. People just call him Ricky." Carth nodded.

"This group would like to join the Exchange, Davik." Candorous explained. "Connan Frai was the one in the swoop races."

"Yes, yes, I recall that. Nice job you did, mopping the floor with those gang members." Davik smirked. "That's the kind of work we look for. We'll run the routine background check on you and your friends while you enjoy your stay here."

The doors to Connan's right opened and a man strolled out, his head covered with a white sheet and his eyes covered with dark goggled, reminding Connan of a pilot who's had one too many drinks.

"Ah! Calo Nord. I was wondering when you'd show up. Connan Frai, this is Calo Nord. He's my second best bounty hunter." Davik made the two shake hands, though Connan knew neither of them enjoyed it. She grimaced as her hand touched his.

"It's not like you to not go solo, Candorous. You're getting soft." Calo sneered at the Mandalorian.

"Watch yourself, Nord." Candorous growled, setting Connan on-edge. "You may be the newest Kath Hound but you aren't top dog yet."

"Enough! I won't have my two best hunters killing each other. We have guests." Davik calmed the two down for the moment. "I'd like to give them the grand tour."

"If you don't mind—" An idea just came to Connan's head, and it was too good to pass up. "My Twi'lek friend is very tired. Could you point her in the direction of our room so she can rest?"

"Hey, I'm not—" Mission stopped talking when Connan slipped a stealth-field generator onto the Twi'lek's wrist. "—Energetic at all. I'm tee-totaled. I'll need some shut-eye."

"Of course. We'll pass by the rooms first so we may drop your friend off." Davik nodded his head. "This way." He began walking to his right.

"Thank you so much! I've always wanted to snoop around a crime lord's manor!" Mission squealed quietly to Connan. She nodded.

"Find out how we can get those codes to the ship's controls while you're out having fun, will you?" Connan asked. Mission nodded.

-----

With Mission gone from the group, Davik lead Connan into the hangar, where the _Ebon Hawk _sat eagerly.

"Ah, the _Ebon Hawk_, my pride and joy. Fastest ship in the galaxy. Nothing can beat it, except the Sith auto-targeting systems. But… don't worry. I am currently working on an expedition to get me the codes so I may come and go from Taris as I please." Davik smiled as he spoke. Connan couldn't help but grin along knowingly.

"Well I hope that your goal is reached." She piped.

"If I may ask—" Calo sneered. "How did you break your knee?"

Connan blanched. She hadn't thought anyone would ask that.

"I—well, it's a little embarrassing, but…." She eyed Carth pleadingly. He met her gaze and nodded, taking up where she left off.

"I told you not to play pazaak with a Gammorean." He chided. "Those guys don't like losing."

"You fought a Gammorean?" Davik was shocked. So was Connan.

"I…yes! I did! I fought… a Gammorean in the cantina… yesterday!" Connan chocked to make up the rest of the story. "Beat him one too many times and what happens? I'm lucky Onasi came in and saved me, or I couldn't join you here today." She smiled at Carth, watching him turn red and glare at her.

"Thank you, Mr. Onasi." Davik bowed to the man. "I haven't seen General Frai in a few months myself, but from what I remember she's a gem; especially after you save her life."

Connan turned red, looking away from Carth and taking her arm off of his shoulders.

"General?" He asked as she did so. She cringed as she placed weight onto her blue leg, and Carth tried to prop her up against him again. She pulled back.

"She didn't tell you about Sajor?" Davik seemed surprised.

"It's not necessary. I really didn't do anything." Connan limped backwards, holding up a hand. Davik scoffed.

"Didn't do anything? Why, she only—"

"That's enough, Kang. Please." Connan seethed, her tone low. Davik eyed her for a moment and nodded.

"Very well. Let's head on."

-----

Carth was peeved as they were led back to their room. Why hadn't Connan hold him she'd been a general? She certainly didn't _act _like a general. He would have to talk to her about it later.

Davik showed them the room which Mission had gotten back to and slipped under the covers to act asleep.

"These will be your accommodations while I run the background check on you. It should take about three days, so make yourself comfortable. If you feel like you need anything, feel free to head to the slave quarters and tell them what you'd like." Davik smiled and bowed his head in respect. "Though I must warn you that if you leave these halls or disturb any of my other guests you'll be 'dealt with' just like any other hopeful."

"Hopeful?" Bastila raised an eyebrow.

"That's what we call people hoping to get to the Exchange." Calo explained.

"Are we prisoners here?" Connan asked. "I mean, we can't really do anything or go anywhere for three days."

Davik snorted. "You, a prisoner? You'd escape before I could say 'technician'." Conna suppressed the urge to smirk and scoffed. "Now come Calo. Let's leave these people to their sleep."

The door closed, leaving Connan, Bastila, Carth, Mission, and Candorous all by themselves.

"Okay, we're in. Let's get to the hangar." Candorous ordered. Mission sat up in her covers, sighing.

"That wouldn't be a good idea. The codes for the _Hawk _aren't written on paper, and the only guy other than Davik who knows them was arrested three days ago for stealing spice." She reported.

"Do you know where they're holding him?" Connan asked, limping over to her friend and sitting on the bed. Carth cringed.

"Yes, they're holding him in what they call the 'guest' room. I would've gotten him out of there but it's got two attack droids in it. We need to get the codes from him before we get to the _Hawk_." Mission explained.

"Let's go then." Connan shrugged, standing. She hissed in pain, holding her knee as she sat back down. She took off her bag from her shoulders and pulled out her syringe. She injected it into her leg once more. She put the needle back in and set the bag back on her shoulders.

"Are you going to let me help you?" Carth asked. "You can't walk around here with that leg."

"I can so." Connan stood once more, this time merely cringing in pain, and took a step. She fell back down onto the bed. "Okay…. Maybe I can't."

Carth groaned, helping her up and supporting her weight.

"Okay, let's go find that pilot."

-----

The first blast came when they reached the hangar itself. Connan was floored on top of Carth as the ground shook.

"Damnable Sith!" Davik's voice made Connan spring back up off of Carth, who was red from his ears to the bottom of his neck. "They'll tear this hangar down around our ears!" He spotted Connan and the others.

"Well, look what we have here. A couple of thieves in the hangar.

"So, you thought you could just steal my ship and sail on out of here leave the rest of us for dead?"

"Actually, I didn't know the Sith would do this." Connan countered. "We just wanted to steal the ship."

"Not with me around you won't!" Davik took out a vibrosword.

"I'll take care of the rest of them, boss." Calo uncovered a blaster.

Davik lunged for Connan, shoving Carth out of the way. Connan shrieked, blocking the attack and limping away. Davik ran after her. He stabbed at her back. Connan turned suddenly and parried, striking a blow at his armor and nicking it. Davik growled.

"Stupid brat." He scowled. "You're dishonoring Ricky by doing this, you know that? Would he want you to steal from his more profitable friend?"

"Yes." Connan spat, slashing at his head. He twisted his sword around and smashed the hilt into her nose. She screamed, falling onto her back. Warm, thick blood splattered across her face. She could barely see the blade of Davik coming down upon her.

Connan moved her blade to barely counter his, so the back of her vibrosword was inches from her face.

"Ricky wouldn't want his 'most profitable friend' to kill his best friend." She coughed, kicking the hilt of Davik's vibrosword out of his hands and kicking him in the stomach. He lurched backward.

"Connan!" Bastila called, pausing her skirmish with Calo. "Head for the ship!"

Nodding, Connan flipped off of the ground, using her arms as the catapults and landed away from Davik.

"Sorry, old friend," She whispered. She drew up her sword and threw it at him. He noticed it too late. It lodged into his skull.

"If I'm going down," Calo started saying as his boss dropped. He held a circular ball in his hands. "You're all going with me. This thermal detonator will blow us all to bits."

The ground shook again and Calo's detonator rolled out of his hands.

"Damn! The Sith'll being this hangar down around our ears!" Calo cursed. Carth and the others dodged from him as a part of the ceiling hit him. He was crushed.

"Get on the ship!" Connan shouted, wiping the blood from her nose off of her face and onto her armor. "Now!"

"We'll pick up the Wookie from the apartments before taking off." Candorous said to her as he shot aboard. Mission and Bastila followed.

"Are you alright?" Carth asked, motioning to her nose. "I'm going to have to fix that."

"Yeah, I'm fine. It's just—" She stopped. Something on the ground next to Davik caught her attention. A small glimmer of silver shone from a tin flute laying on the vibrating ground.

"My flute!" Connan attempted to shoot out of the ship. Carth held her waist, pulling her back.

"You won't survive going out there now. You've got to let it go." He said. "You can always get another one."

They were already taking off into the air and leaving as the ramp closed.

"That's the second time I've lost a flute in two weeks." Connan sniffed. Carth rubbed her back soothingly.

"It's alright. You'll find another one."

"Hmmmm…." Connan limped into the cockpit, Carth following closely behind. "Let's get a move on, shall we?" She asked.

They were off.

-----

**So they're onto Dantooine! And _yes_, they picked up Zaalbar. This thing was already 22 pages and I didn't want to make it longer. Please review! I'll update Phantom Menace tomorrow!**


	8. Dantooine I

Connan walked through the _Ebon Hawk_, mapping the layout inside her mind.

"_From the ramp go through the garage and to the left to get to one of the dorms. Go to the right and you get a hallway with the med bay in it." _She recited to Jishin.

"_While we're talking about the med bay, get something for our nose." _Jishin advised. Connan nodded, grabbing a few white cloths.

The ship shook, sending Connan to the floor. She groaned.

"_What now?" _She asked, running to the cockpit.

"What happened?" She said aloud.

"The Sith are figuring out we've bypassed their auto-targeting system. They're sending fighters. Get down there and fight them!" Carth said.

"No one bother with my broken nose, alright?" Connan droned sarcastically. "I'll just go and save all of our asses because Onasi wants me to fight."

"Republic soldiers fight through anything that comes their way." Carth straightened. Connan bristled.

"Fine. I'll kill the stupid Sith. But you owe me." She growled. She dropped into the turret machine.

Turning on the turret with the flick of a button, Connan gripped the joystick to the turrets and aimed for the Sith fighters. She pressed the red knob on the stick, sending a vibration through the ship as a missile was fired. Connan's nose knocked itself again. She groaned.

"_When we get through this alive, remind me to hurt Carth._" Connan whined. Jishin nodded.

"_Will do."_

The missile missed the Sith ship by a long-shot. Carth's growl was heard from above the woman.

"Can't you aim better than that?"

"Get in one of the escape pods and ask me that." Connan spat. She aimed at another ship and shot.

Bull's eye.

"Want to bad-mouth me now?" She called. She heard Carth scowl.

Five more shots erupted from Connan's turrets, blowing up three other Sith ships. Two left.

One of the Sith ships fired at her turrets, barely missing Connan and hitting the hull of the ship. The shields blocked the attack.

"Can't you dodge attacks better than that? Or do you really want to blow me to smithereens?" She called to Carth.

"Hey, you try spinning a ship this size around on impulse and tell me it's easy." Carth snarled back. "Watch out!"

Connan fired another shot, dismembering another Sith ship. One left. Connan squinted her eyes, aiming for it.

The ship shook, sending Connan forward in her seat and causing her to hit her head on the brace in front of her. She groaned.

"What happened?"

"They hit us again." Carth sighed. Connan groaned, hitting the last Sith ship successfully. She climbed out of the turret and sighed, leaning against the wall.

"Well, that was an adventure and a half." She chided, wiping her nose delicately.

"We're free from the Sith's clutches now, but we need somewhere to go." Carth said, instating the warp drive. Connan braced herself to the wall as she was tugged backward.

"We should head to Dantooine. There's a Jedi Enclave there where we can find refuge." Bastila advised.

"We can't go there! You saw what the Sith did to Taris: there wasn't a building left over two stories high!" Carth argued.

"Carth has a point." Connan rubbed her chin. "Though the Jedi may be able to hold their own, Dantooine is a small planet with mostly farmers and children. Going there would be asking Malak to blow it up." She sighed. "We should head somewhere full of tough people, used to battle."

"Well, it's not like we have the fuel left to do that." Bastila growled. "You didn't take out the ship fast enough. That big blast took out most of our fuel. Dantooine is the closest place we can get and be safe."

"_I _didn't take them out? What about Onasi? The guy can't even turn a ship." Connan threw a hand at Carth.

"Don't drag me into this cat fight, sister." Carth smirked. "This is between you two now."

"Fraking coward." Connan muttered. She glared at Bastila. "Fine."

"_We should fix our nose." _Jishin tapped her twin gently.

"_Right."_ Connan turned and left the room.

-----

It took them three days to get to Dantooine. During that time, Connan stayed in the med bay, writing things down inside a datapad.

"_Best to keep a journal on us." _She told Jishin. _"In case we need to look back on something that's happened."_

"_Or we need to laugh." _Jishin added, taking control of the hands and describing the feeling of getting their nose smashed with a hilt.

Both Connan's knee and her nose recovered by the time they landed on Dantooine, so she was fully able to walk around and stare at everyone.

"Hey Candorous," She'd asked one day. "You've seen war. Tell me some stories."

"Do I look like your nanny?" The Mandalorian scowled, watching Connan sit cross-legged on the ground.

"No, but you're as bored as I am. So 'fess up." Candorous sighed, sat leaning against the wall, and started on his famous stories.

Connan knew they'd landed on Dantooine when the ship came to a halt and began hissing. She'd been on the med bay counter, writing more in that datapad she'd come to love. She sighed, placing the datapad in her pocket, and stood. The _Ebon Hawk _thudded to a stop and the ramp opened. Connan glanced outside the ramp.

"I'm going to inform the Council of our arrival." Bastila said behind the woman. Connan jumped, startled. "Just wait here until we're done."

"Yeah, sure." Connan started to the cockpit.

"Onasi?" She called.

"In here." He answered. He was sitting in the pilot's chair, staring at the world in front of him. "We finally made it." Connan nodded.

"Yeah," She stared at the ground. Her knuckles in her hands popped.

"Are your fingers alright?" Carth asked, snatching one of them and bending the fingers gently. They popped once again. "They keep popping."

"Well, I'm used to playing a lot of my flute. If I can't play the flute every now and then my fingers get cranky. It's nothing serious." She said, flushing. Carth rubbed her gloved index finger.

"Huh," He muttered. "So what are you going to do now that we're here?"

"I'm not sure." Connan sighed as Carth let go of her hand. "The prospect of meeting a Jedi Council hadn't crossed my mind until Bastila said she was going to meet them. I'm not as enthused as she was."

"Somehow, I thought not." Carth joked. Connan grinned.

"What about you? There's no cantina around or anything." Connan observed.

"I'll just poke around, do some research, and get in touch with General Dadonna. I have to get orders from her on what to do." Carth informed. Connan's ears perked.

"Orders?"

"Yes, she might have me go somewhere else." He sighed.

"Would you, really?" She asked.

"I…I wouldn't be happy about it, but I'd go." Carth answered. "Something else is going to happen here, I can feel it. I'd like to be around to see it."

"Gee, thanks." Connan pouted. Carth chuckled.

-----

"No." Connan crossed her arms, keeping her feet planet firmly on the ramp of the ship.

"What?" Bastila gasped in shock at the other end of the ramp. Her eyes bulged and her mouth was left agape.

"No. No way. Want it in Twi'lek? _Comash_. Want it in Rodian? _Jiya_. Want it in Tuskan Raider? Ehh—well, I can't speak it. But it's all the same, anyway. No way am I going to meet the Jedi Council." Connan stamped her foot.

"Why ever not?" Bastila scowled.

"Uhhh… my hair." Connan pointed to the slumped-over ponytail on the top of her head and the small straggles of loose hair frizzed around it.

Bastila raised an eyebrow, clearly disgusted. "Your _hair_?"

"Yes! My hair. I always do what my hair tells me to do for the day." Connan heard Carth snicker behind her, and grinned herself.

"And what is your hair telling you to do today, Connan?" Bastila asked. Connan faltered for a moment.

"It's telling me to do the same thing I do every day." She clarified.

"And what's that?"

"I don't know myself, but it sure as _hell_ isn't going to meet a Jedi Council." Connan heard Candorous burst into laughter in the garage. Bastila groaned, raising her arms in the air and flipping around 180 degrees.

"You won't be able to leave this part of the docking area, you know. The way to the fields is _through _the Jedi Enclave. You're stuck here." Bastila said slyly. Connan shrugged.

"I'll manage. I've got two men, one Wookie, one Twi'lek and a machine to keep me company." She leaned on the ramp, twirling a stray hair in between her fingers.

"Ooh!" Bastila growled, clenching her fists at her sides. "If you weren't so stingy, so… so _tight-fisted_, maybe you'd see that—"

"Tight-fisted? I don't think I've ever been called that by a Jedi before," Connan rubbed her chin thoughtfully. She shrugged. "Oh, well. I'll just stay here until the ship gets fixed, then I'll be off."

"You're just as sullen, just as sarcastic, just as rude as the last time I—" Bastila stopped short.

"The last time you what?" Connan bristled. Bastila blanched, staring at the steel at her feet.

"Nothing, Connan. It's nothing. I will inform the Council of your refusal." She stated, exhaling loudly.

Connan waved, a sudden smirk on her face. "I'll see you later, Princess."

The ramp went up.

-----

"_We're idiots." _Jishin cringed, folding Connan's arms across her chest as Connan sat leaning against the wall in the women's dormitory. It had been two days since their arrival and Dantooine and nothing could have been duller than being stuck in the women's dorm room of a ship. _"Just plain idiots."_

"_Hey, who knew that house arrest would be so boring?" _Connan shrugged. _"It's either stay in here or hop on outside to meet the Jedi Council."_

"_Let's stay here." _Jishin hugged herself tighter.

"There you go." Connan said out loud. She sighed, resting her chin on her knees. _"But what to do in the meantime?"_

For ten minutes, Jishin and Connan stayed silent, staring at the floor. Connan clenched her hands together and groaned.

"This would be so much quicker if we had that stupid flute!" She cried out loud.

"It's our own fault that we lost it. We should have closed the bag before battling with a crime lord." Jishin took over the cords to speak. Connan nodded, taking them back so she could respond.

"But we didn't know we'd be battling a crime lord, now did we?" She asked Jishin.

The door opened. Connan looked up, starting in surprise. Carth stood in the doorway, a look of perplexity on his face.

"Oh, sorry, I heard voices and thought someone else was in here, too." He said. Connan flushed, looking away.

"T-there's no one else in here. Just me and my shadow." She chuckled nervously at the irony. Carth leaned against the door post, staring at the floor.

"I see…." He murmured. There was a silence for a moment, with Connan twiddling her thumbs and Carth studying the doorway. Finally, he opened his mouth to speak.

"Hey, Connan..." Uh-oh. First name, not last name. This must have been important for him. Connan stared at him.

"Hmmm?"

"I was wondering… why did Davik call you a general?" Connan tightened her fists.

"That's none of your business." She snapped. "It's none of your business, it's none of the Jedi's business, it's none of Davik's business. It's something that happened once that I'd rather not talk about, especially on a planet full of pitying Jedi."

"Not all Jedi are the same, you know." Carth mentioned. He cringed as he remembered her words from before.

"_To me, the Jedi look like millions of Saul Karaths."_

"They have the same philosophies, and if a faction of them won't help, they _all _won't help." Connan growled.

"Why won't you tell me what happened to you?" Carth asked. "If it's getting you this mad, you should tell someone about it."

"I will when you tell me your sob story." Connan stood, stretching. "Now, if you'll excuse me, I have an escape to plan. There are fields behind the Jedi Enclave that I'd like to get to." She started to leave the room when Carth gripped her wrist tightly.

"Wait." He started. She turned and stared at him. "I… got you something." Connan's muscles tensed, her eyes widened. "I—I noticed you being a little bored without your—your flute," he turned red, his hand still encircling her wrist and his face staring at the ground. "So, so I—I sort of, got one made for you."

Carth pulled out a long box, receiving a gasp from Connan. She stared at the box intently.

"It—it's in here." He pushed it into her hands and left the room.

Carth left Connan standing in the women's dorm room, staring at the maroon box in her hands. She was afraid to open it. He said it was a flute. A flute! He'd gotten her a flute?

"_We won't know it's a flute until we open it," _Jishin answered. Connan sat on one of the bunks and set the box in her lap gently. With trembling fingers, she pulled off the top and set it aside. She giggled shyly.

It was a silver flute, with green, vine-looking indentation around it. Next to the mouthpiece, two letters were carved in a beautiful cursive font. They said "C.F." Connan Frai.

Connan brushed her left hand gently across the flute, testing each valve, button and hole for malfunctions. There were none. It was the perfect flute.

In total shock, Connan stared at the spot where Carth once stood.

"_He got us a flute…." _She felt her cheeks begin to turn red.

"_Why did he do that?" _Jishin asked.

"You are one red woman, you know that?" Mission scared Connan, who had been thinking to herself. She jumped.

"Ooh! Mission, you scared me!" She chuckled nervously, scratching the back of her head.

"What's that?" Mission asked, pointing to the flute. "I thought you'd lost yours on—on Taris."

"I did." Connan saw Mission's confused look. "He just—I mean, Onasi got—"

"He made one for you, didn't he?" Mission giggled. "Connan's got a boyfriend! Connan's got a boyfriend!"

Connan darted for Mission, tackling the girl and poking relentlessly at her ribs. Mission burst out in uncontrollable laughter.

"He is _not _my boyfriend." Connan stressed, sighing. "He's a guy that's a friend."

-----

Connan woke early the next morning, taking her two swords and two blasters with her. Smirking, she put the finishing touches into a datapad and set it on the breakfast table. She slung her rucksack around her shoulder and quickly slipped out of the _Ebon Hawk_.

No one was up and around the front of the Enclave as Connan scanned for witnesses. She stalked up to the Enclave doors and snuck in. Pulling out the schematics she'd picked off of Bastila, she turned right, avoiding the dorms and the Council Room altogether. She sighed. A droid was on patrol in front of the door she needed to get through.

"You have to authority to be here!" The droid called. Connan growled. It was talking _way _too loud. It was going to wake the whole Enclave up. Connan lunged at it, pulling a few wires out of its head. It shut off. Connan smirked. She was free to move around the fields for a day.

She couldn't wait to see the look on Bastila's face when she found out she was missing.

-----

"Oh, dear. Carth!"

Bastila's voice rang through Carth's ears, waking him from his sleep. He groaned, rubbing his forehead. He trotted into the main hold, running a hand through his hair.

"What is it?" He asked, yawning. Bastila, an apparent glare on her face, shoved the datapad into his hands.

"Read this." She growled. Carth flipped on the datapad and began reading.

"**What happened to 'I can't leave the ship unless I meet the Council'? I'm gone! I'll be back in a little bit; I just thought I'd get some fresh air."**

Carth chuckled.

"Yeah, what about it?" He asked, handing the pad back. Bastila snatched it away from him.

"What about it? I'm not sure you realize this, but Connan has run off into the fields!" Bastila gawked.

"So? She can take care of herself."

Bastila slammed her hands onto the table, standing. Carth suppressed a laugh.

"You don't know what's _in_ the fields, do you?" Bastila growled. "There are Kath Hounds—"

"They're just wild dogs. Connan can take care of those. She's smart enough to take weapons."

"There are Kinraths."

"They're just like the Kath Hounds."

"There are Mandalorian Mercs!"

Carth choked on his words, nearly falling over onto the table. He thumped his chest.

"That might pose a problem."

----

_Wow_, Connan thought ruefully, t_here are some needy people on Dantooine._

"So, please!" The woman exclaimed. "Please find my droid!"

"Lady," Connan rubbed her eyes. "It's not even dawn yet. What are you doing out here?"

"Looking for my droid!" The woman answered. Shrugging, Connan sighed.

"If I find the thing, I'll be sure to send it your way. Happy?" With wave, Connan was off.

The cool breeze flipped through Connan's hair as she sauntered through the fields of Dantooine. She closed her eyes, sighing. Nothing could have been better than feeling the nice wind caress her cheek and she strode through the fields. She sat on a rather large and pulled out her new flute.

"The least I can do is play it," she said to herself. Jishin answered.

"What should we play?" She asked, cocking her head. Connan shrugged.

"Something happy-ish. We're outside of that stupid ship until they find us! And besides, the sun is coming up." Without letting Jishin reply, Connan held the flute up to her lips and blew.

Her fingers twiddled around on the surface, finding the keys she needed to hit for the right sound. A sweet little tune flittered around the air, wafting upwards, almost seeming to try and race the rising sun.

A little yelp behind Connan broke her attention. She perked her head up, turning on the rock. There sat a small Kath Hound, barely old enough to walk around. It was young enough so its ears hadn't straightened yet, so they lay on the sides of its head, flopping around as it tilted its head. It didn't seem like it intended harm, but Connan eyed it warily.

"Hello," She said to it, waving. It yelped happily, turning around. In a moment it noticed its tail. It began spinning about in circles trying to catch it. Connan laughed. It didn't want to hurt her; it wanted to play.

"Don't do that." Connan ordered, inching off of the boulder. She landed on her feet, right in front of the Hound. She scratched its ears, bending over to its height. It was going to be a big Hound, it was barely alive and it was already up to her knee. "You're a girl, aren't you?" She scratched the Kath Hound's chin. It cooed happily.

"Here, see if you like this." Connan stuck the flute back to her mouth and started playing again. She played a simple melody, with jumps and quirks everywhere. The dog became invigorated. She jumped into the air and spun around, as if she was dancing. Connan laughed.

"_Isn't she precious!" _Jishin remarked. The Kath Hound stopped running. It froze, save for its ears as they turned all around.

"Did it just hear you?" Connan asked Jishin. Jishin shrugged.

"_Hey, Kath Hound! If you can hear me, run around in a circle and bark three times!" _Jishin cupped her hands together as she spoke.

"Jishin, it's barely a pup. It's not going to know how to—" Connan stopped mid-sentence as the Hound ran a huge circle around Connan and barked three times. "Oh, my."

"_Can we keep it?" _Jishin asked, pleading. The Hound came up to them.

"Oh, I don't know." Connan admitted, scratching the back of her head. "What would we call her?"

"_Let's call her 'Saffire'!" _Jishin replied quickly.

"No, she's not blue." Connan shook her head. "How about Æliesha?"

The dog yipped.

"It knows its name already!" Connan said. The dog tackled her, smothering her face with licks. Jishin laughed.

"How are we going to get her past the Jedi Enclave?" Jishin asked through the vocal cords.

"Come to think of it, how are _we_ going to get past the Jedi Enclave? It's probably already opened by now." Connan sat on the grass, with her new dog laying across her leg span beside her.

"We could wait them out for the day." Jishin suggested. Connan shook her head.

"No, that would take too long. And besides, sometimes the Jedi come out here for extra training." She explained. "We'll have to just walk right through with a Kath Hound and stop anyone who tries to stop us."

A shot was fired inches away from Connan's right thigh. She flipped over backward and pulled out her own blaster. Æliesha stood beside her, angry.

There, in front of Connan, stood five Mandalorian Mercs.

-----

**I finally finished! I'm grounded so I can't work on AOTC. I'm at school working on this. And I keep messing up because these keyboards suck. Well, here you are, Queenofinsanity.**

**Sorry for the long wait, y'all. I'll try and update some more stuff before things get bad. Please review me!**

**Oh, and another thing before the bell rings. Since I can't play the game and get the dialogue, I can't go by it. So I'll be freelancing for a while. If I miss anything mondo-major and I can't make up for it in some other way please review and tell me so I can fix it! Thanks a lot and please review!**


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